JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES
BY
J> K K S I D E N T B II I G II A M Y 0 U N ft ,
HIS TWO COUNSELLORS,
AND THB TWELVE APOSTLES.
i:t:min Kh by
ft W, EVANS, J, Q. CANNON AND MISS JULIA YOUNG,
\NH EESPECTFCLLT UKIUCATlih TO THK LA.TTKIMMY SAI>TS IN ALL TIIE WQKLtl.
Vol,. XIV.
LIVERPOOL ■
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY ALBfiHT CARRINGTON, 42, ISLINGTON.
LONDON:
LA ITER- DAY SAINTS* B nit DEPOT, 20, £l*HOF*8 G&OY&, IfeUKCTOW*
1
JEffTlKEO AT aiTATInNias' HALL.
r r e r a o e .
o — —
In tinn*s siit.li the present, the discourses of tin* 1\v1<ts of Israel
cannot be else than of the highest interest to every soul who ha*
embraced the Gospel for the love of the truth. With this know-
ledge w« present the Fourteenth Volume of the Jguhnal of Dis-
t'ur]tsr;s to tin- Saints, realizing tbut any WiU'-is ui" commendation on
our part on M not only be entirely out of place, but worse than
superfluous.
GEORGE REYNOLDS*
■
INDEX.
Date, P-ista
Preface, iii
■
KvoutW Hxm. W. Woodruff, Jan. 1, 1871, l
Ttir I'^ ssin-i nf Jo&efffji— The American Indians. u. I'uvtt. FcK 19, t, 7
H<i iw M.-mifacturrs ■ Tniim in Hitsines* Matters. G. A* ^mith. May tf, 1870. J2
The Fashions of the WmJ I Making our own Clothing ami
Fashions. Ji. Youfffi, May Gt >t I'j
Stirring Times— The Latter-day Work. G. Q. Caewon. Jan. 8,1871. 22
The Work of (rod — Authority of President Young— Ke^iin^ the
Comiuiintlrnents of God. Wr Wuoonuff, May 6,1870, 31
( •]iiLi :u tri- :lm! coin I ir;. >n i»J' i\w LjiL(."r-ditj S«inlH • In!i ii-iity —
The Atonement — Celestial Marriage. 11, Young. May 8, 37
The Goaf cl of Jeaui Christ taught hy the Latter-day Saints —
Celestial Marriage. G. Cannon, Au«*. I5t 1869, 45
The Restoration of the Jews ami the Hc-butlrliiJ.^ "f -liTUHHlt'iii —
The Latter-day Kingdom of God — Gathering of Israel,
0. Pkatt. March 20, 1871. 58
Sin—The Atonement— Good and Evil— The Kingdom of God—
B. Young. July 10t 1S70. 70
The I. ! tcj i3;lv Saints i]u;< tmpe of tlie World Jesus muti be
acknowledged— One-man Power — Truth and Error.
11. Youn'u. Aug, 7h »,
Gathering the Saints— The Providences of the Lord— Ua uliliBljl
of N on -prod n^rs— Arbitration better I ban Courts— Feed,
not Fight the Indians— Paying Tithing B. Toll no* April ft, 1871* 7S
Thr t >]]>'■ 1 1 1 n n l'cfWtti ' r.atv — Ffi\: Agency I'r i'?o hn-.i »i:r|
Government. B, Yot:N«, April 8, „ 91
Date* Page.
Trailit i- -nrt - < grossing the Poor — Influence of Women —
Fashions, B. Yotrso.
Good and Evil— The Testimony of tin. spirit— -His early Reli-
gious Experience, Fi, YorxG.
Attending Meei. -Religion and Science -~ Geology — The
Creation* B. Young.
Obedience — The Revelation on Marriage and the Anti-poly-
gamy Law. B. Youkg.
The Building of Temples— The Keys of the Apostleahip.
( dim.
The Character of the: Savior— The Poorer of the Priesthood— The
Unpardonable Sin, B. YuVSc.
"tflie Fulfill meat of Prophecy— The Early History of the Church
— The Book of Mormon (X Pratt.
The Celestial Glory— Modern Civilization— Family Government,
li. Young.
Political Parties and Christian Sects— The Sabbath — Marriage.
13. Yors't;.
Per* -Hition— Kiret Principles— Priesthood ft. Q. Cannon,
The Day of Pentecost— The Uifts or the Spirit — Cornelius,
0. Pratt.
The Holy Spirit— The Knowledge brought by Obedience to the
Gospel — The Labors of the Elders, J, Taylor.
The Training of Children. B. YOVM.
Thu Gospel — The Spirit of the Lord— Key elation. B. Yoi_vis.
The Lord's Supper — Historical Reminiscences— The Puritans,
G. A. Ion,
An Incident of Kauvoo. U. Vm/si..
Missionaries— The Eiillupuce of Mo there, B. Young,
Tuinporanee. B. Young.
Our Present Life — The Spirit World, B. Young.
The R ede m |?t « 1 t l ■ ■ f 1 1 1 e K a rt h — I * n - K s i sten c e — M ar r i age,
O, Pratt,
The Urn-hang eableness of the Gospel— The Triiinipli nf Truth,
J, TaI'LOR,
Revelation — Persecution — His Testimony and Feelings,
J+ TatloR*
The Gathering;— The Else of the Church— The Book of Mormon
—True Christianity. 0. Pratt.
ihu- Religion I'lvm Kud not Man — Enter not into Temptation —
No Covenants to Forsake, J. Tat lor.
Order— Spiritual t Jifis— Temples— I he N\ w Jerusalem.
0. Pe( ATT,
Debts — In gratitude — Confidence — Our Religion. B. Young, July 3, 1870. 27G
Aug.
8, 1869,
98
May
7, 3871.
109
May
H
if
114
May
21,
119
April
%
122
May
»•
129
March 1 S-1,
137
J une
25,
ii
U7
J una
11
156
June
11,
1 1
in
June
i%
ii
March 20, 1870, 135
June
1871, 192
Aug.
rt,
Jul
Ail...
13,
*^
210
July
SSj
21$
July
27,
n
220
Aug,
27,
ii
2'23
Sept,
10,
ii
227
Au£.
ii
233
O t.
8,
ji
Oct.
pi
Dec.
It),
M
253
Dee,
17.
P 1
266
April
9.
II
-Tl
Date. Pn^\
No Time to do Wrong^Save the Children, J, Smitil Sept. 3, 187L 818
The Restoration of the Gospel— Its First Principles A mi mu-
tating fititotii of the Truth, of the Book of Mormon.
0. Pratt, Nov. 27, 1870. 289
Progression — The Fatherhood of God — The Perfect Man — The
Gifts of t he Spirit— His Testimony. L. Snow, Jan. 14, 1872. 300
The New Biith— Baptism for the Dead -Tern ples>
G. Q. Cannon. Dee. 3> 1871- 310
Nephite America— The Day of God's Fmvf r — The Shepherd of
laraet. O. Pratt- FHj. H, 1 S7*i. .'123
Truth — Freedom — The Gospel versus Modem t Urish.'mitw
J. Taylor, M»rrh 3r M 330
Zion. O. Pjiait. M urchin. JU3
Conti 1 Ro v el i t i on . J. T a v i .. > h. March 17, t ■
Persecutions — Temples — Co-operation. G. A. tittiTH. April 6, t1 36S
Our Srhook C. V Smuh. April 8t ,T oTl
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
REMARKS Br ELDER W. WOODRUFF,
Delivered lnt the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, January 1, 1871.
(Reported by David W. Evans.)
EVENTFUL TIMES.
I wish you all a happy new year, and
I hope that we may live to see a good !
many, and that we may keep the com-
mandments of Gods obey his laws, and j
have his approbation and blessing upon
113 as a people. We have assembled
here on this, the first day of the week,
and the first day of the year 1871 }
and this leads my mind to reflect
upon the age and generation in which
we Jive, and the great events of the '
latter davs — events which involve
the interests and destiny of all the
inhabitants of the earth — both Zion
and Babylon, Jew and Gentile,
Jerusalem, America, and the whole
world. All nations are interested in
the events which are approaching us,
and which await this generation ; for,
whether the world believe it or not,
tbey are of vast interest to them all.
There have been certain times looked
forward to in the world's history, in
which it was believed that something
remarkable would occur, and there
have been several of these periods
daring the last fifty years. J do not
No. 1.
know that anything was predicted at
an early day with regard to 1830 ;^
but I recoiled when a boy at school,
of readi4^# certain verse about a
great ec^fl^of the sun —
In eifl^pn hundred and thirty-one
Will uK great eclipse upon the sun.
I beard about ibis fifteen years before
it took place, it having been foretold
by the astronomers, by the principles
and laws of the science of astronomy. ,
On that day I was passing through a
forest of pine wood, at Farmington,
Connecticut, going to see my father,
whom X had not seen for some time;
It was nearly as dark as night, and ,
when I got through, into the open
fields, there was what is termed a%
poor house, the only house erected
within several miles in that region o£
con i : try « A poor man had died them
and they were drawing bis body on
an ox sled and were going to bury
him. I noticed this as I passed along, ,
and thought of what I bad read ; bat
nothing of any particular interest,
occurred that year except the eel ipsa
VoL XIV.
of the sun. But in 1S30 something i
occurred of great interest to ali the
inhabitants of the earth : that was
the establishment of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Many persons have looked forward
to the year I860 with great interest;
and this has been the case with many
of the Latter-day Saints. What took
place in that year ? The dissolution
of the American Union ; for in that
year the South took a stand against
the North, and the North against the
South, in fulfilment of a certain
revelation given by Joseph Smith
thirty years before it took place.
Joseph Smith predicted that there
would' be a great rebellion in the
United States — the South and the
North warring against each other,
and that this rebellion would com- ]
mence in South Carolina, and would
end in the death and misery of many
souls j and that in process of time — ,
after many days, the slaves would
rise against their masters, and that one
nation would call for aid upon another,
for war would be poured upon the
whole earth, I wrote this revelation i
twenty-five years before the rebellion
took place ; others also wrote it, and
it was published to the world before
there was any prospect of the fearful
events it predicted coming to pasa
Joseph Smith once said in a speech
at Nauvoo, to a company, that whoso-
ever lived to see the two sixes come
together in '66 would see the Ameri-
can continent deluged in blood. That
was many years before there waa any
prospect of a rebellion. The history
of '60 and of '66 is before the world,
and I do not wish to spend time in
referring to it.
We have got by '30, '60, *66, and
*70, and we are now living at a period
when every year is big with events of
interest to the inhabitants of the
earth ; and they will continue from
this time until the coming of tbe |
I Lord Jesus Christ. Many men have
set times for the coming of the Lord
Jesus Christ, among whom, living in
our own day, we may mention Mr.
Miller. He set times and days for
tbe appearing of the Messiah, and has
. said that he would purely come on
I such a day. Now if Mr. Miller had
been acquainted with the prophecies
contained in the Bible, and with the
Spirit by which the Scriptures were
written, he would have known very
clearly that- Christ would not come
until certain events had taken place.
He would have been aware that the
Messiah would not make his ap-
pearance until an angel of God had
delivered the everlasting Gospel from
the heavens to be preached to the
nations of the earth ; until the honest
and meek of the earth are gathered
out from every sect, party and de-
nomination under the whole heavens;
until the Zion of God had gone up
into the mountains of Israel and there
established Zion, and lifted up a
standard to the people, Mr. Miller
and all who have believed like him,
had they understood the Scriptures
' and possessed the Spirit of truth,
would have known that Christ would
not come until the Jews had returned
to their own land and had rebuilt the
City of Jerusalem and the temple
there ; they would have known that
all these and many other prophecies
must have been fulfilled as a prepara-
tory work for the coming of the
Messiah*
These things are before us ; we are
here in these valleys of the mountains,
as the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, established by the
hand of God — by revolation from
heaven. This Church has been
established by raising up prophets,
unto whom have been given the keys
of the kingdom of God — the keys of
the holy Priesthood and Apostleship
of the Son of God, with power to
organiie the Church and kingdom of
God on the earthy with all its gifts,
graces, ordinances, and orders, as
proclaimed by all the Apostles and
prophets who have tired since the
world begun. It is because of this
that we are here to-day* In fulfil-
ment of prophecy and revelation we
have established a kingdom, as it
were, a state, a nation, a people here
in the deserts of North America,
We have planted six hundred miles 1
of cities, towns, villages, gardens,
orchards, tabernacles and temples by
the command of God, for the hand of.
God is in all these things, and they
are in fulfilment of revelations given
in the Bible, Book of Mormon and
Doctrine and Covenants, in oar day
and in ancient days. This is the
work of the Lord, and all the Scrip-
tures, from t\m beginning of Genesis 1
to the end of Revelations point to this
day as one of great interest to all the
human family ; although as one said
of old, u As it was in the days of
Noah and of Lot, so shall it be in the
days of the coming of the Son of
Man." In those d:iys they were
marrying and giving in marriage,
and when Noah went into the Ark,
and when Lot tied out of Sodom, the
inhabitants of the earth through their
unbelief were ignorant of the destruc-
tion awaiting them.
At the present day darkness covers
the earth and gross darkness the
minds of the people; nevertheless
they are living- in an age of the world
more fraught with interest to the
human family than any preceding age
or generation since the creation.
There is no hnndred years, no
thousand years, no two thousand
years since God made this world and
placed Adam in the Garden of Eden
when there was as much prophecy,
revelation, vision, and word of the
Lord and promises of God to be ful-
filled as there is in the generation in
which yon and J live. This is the
great dispensation of all dispensations.
This is the time to which all the
prophets of God have pointed, and in
which they have declared the great
latter-day work of God should be
established. And I will here say
that, many times, while a boy, when
reading the testimony of John, given
on the isle of Patmos, whither he had
been banished for the testimony of
Jesus Christ and for the word of
God ; while reading the account he
gives of the pouring out of plagues
and judgments on the inhabitants of
the earth, I have marvelled that the
Lord should do such a work* But I
do not wonder at it to-day : the scenes
have changed. When I was a boy,
fifty years ago, the kingdom of God
had not been established anions men ;
the angels of God had not visited the
earth; the Lord Almighty had not
clothed his servants with the Priest-
hood and commanded them to go and
warn the nations of the earth of the
judgments which awaited them.
There was not the wickedness then
that there is to-day. The wickedness
committed to-day in the Christian
world in twenty -four hours is greater
than woul 1 have been committed in a
hundred years at the ratio of fifty
years ago. And the spirit of wicked-
ness is increasing, so that I no longer
wonder that God Almighty will turn
rivers into blood ; I do not wonder
that he will open the seals and pour
j out the plagues and sink great
Babylon, as the angel saw, like a
millstone cast into the sea, to rise no
more for ever, I can see that it
requires just such plagues and judg-
ments to cleanse the earth, that it
may cease to groan tinder the wicked-
ness and abomination in which the
Christian world welters to-day* I
can see the necessity for the Lord
stretching forth his hand, establishing
his kingdom, warning the nations,
4 JOURNAL OF
0
and gathering out the honest and
meek of the earth from among all
nations, kindreds, tongues and people,
sects and parties under the whole
heaven, and preparing them to stand
as the bride, the Lamb's wife, as the
Church of Jesus Christ, as the king-
dom of God, adorned with goodly
apparel, adorned with the light of
Zion, with the principles of eternal
life, with the Gospel of Jesas Christ,
preserving within themselves the
virtues and attributes which have
made God what he is, established
hi in on his throne, and given him the
power which he now possesses. I
can say this — the Lord will never
come to visit an earth like this; he
will never come to visit a generation
of the inhabitants of the earth until
they are prepared for his coming and
are willing to receive him.
This Is the foundation of Mor-
mon ism ; this is the foundation of the
Chinch and kingdom of God, which
was laid in 1^30. The Church was
established on the 6th of April in
that year. Its history and the his-
tory of this people are before the
world. We ourselves have learned
t by shoe-leather. Many of the
Eiders of Israel have travelled a
hundred thousand miles to preach the
Gospel during the last forty years
without purse or scrip ; we have
labored day and night, and travelled
as no other generation of men since
the world was made have travelled.
Our garments are clear of the blood
of this generation, at least many of
ns, and 1 hope many more will be.
We have been true and faithful in
our testimony to the inhabitants of
the em'th ; and as the world generally
has rejected our testimony the Lord
has withdrawn his spirit from the
people in a great measure, and the
religion they once enjoyed is as
nothing to many of them. Infidelity
prevails throughout , the world ; very
DISCOURSES.
few, either priests or people, believe
in a literal fulfilment of the Bible.
They have a theory, but as to believ-
ing in a real fulfilment of ptophecy,
or that the Lord meant what he said
and said what he meant, that is out
of the question — very few believe it.
I want to ask a question — Will the
unbelief of this generation make the
truth of God without effect in our
day any more than it has in any other
age of the world ? I tell you nay,
and think not, as Paul says, that I
am your enemy because I tell you
the truth. These things are true
before God ; this is the Zion of God,
and these are the people of God ; and
we, as Latter-day Saints, should live
our religion better than we do ; and
as we are now entering on another
year I hope we shall try to live our
religion through this year, and do our
duty and keep the commandments of
God and walk uprightly before him,
that we may become united as the
heart of one man.
There are great events, as I have
already said, before us. The fact is,
the Lord has laid down a great many
promises concerning the latter days,
and they are going to be fulfilled;
for though the heavens and the earth
pass away not one jot or tittle of the
word of the Lotd will fall unfulfilled ;
and when our nation and the nations
of the earth have filled tbeir cup and
are ripened in iniquity the Lunl will
cut them off. The greater the battle
the sooner it will end; the greater
the warfare the greater the victory,
if the Saints do their duty. These
things are before my mind, in the
vision of it, and the Lord will not
fail in anything he has promised con-
cerning the work of the ktter days.
Whatever opposition this Church and
kingdom may have, it is the work of
God. The Lord has planted and
sustained it Jesus compares the
kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed,
the least of nil seeds, but by and by
when it prows it becomes a large tree,
so the fowls of the air can lodge in
its branches. So it has been with
the kingdom of God ; bat we are
told that the little one will become a
thousand, and the small one a strong
nation, and the Lord will hasten it
in his own time* The Lord says, " I
will break every weapon formed
against Zion ; and every nation,
kindred, tongue and people that will
not serve Zion shall be utterly wasted
away,"
- When I see the world making
warfare against the Zion and peuple
of God because they have borne
record and testimony of his work on
the earth I can tell pretty well what
the end will be; lean see it We
are living in a time when the work
of God is going to increase in interest
every day until it is wound up. No
man knows the day or the hour when
Christ will come, yet the generation
hiis been pointed out by Jesus him-
self. He told his disciples when they
passed by the temple as they walked
out of Jerusalem that that generation
should not pass away before not one
stone of that magnificent temple
should be left standing upon another
and the Jews should be scattered
among the nations; and history tells
how remarkably that prediction was
fulfilled. Moses and the prophets
also prophecied of this as well as
Jesus, The Savior, when speaking
to his disciples of his second coming
and the establishment of his kingdom
on the earth, said the Jews should be
scattered and trodden underfoot rntil
the times of the Gentiles were fulfilled.
But, said he, when you see light
breaking forth among the Gentiles,
referring to the preaching of his
Gospel amongst them ; when you see
salvation uffered to the Gentiles, and
the Jews — the seed of Israel — passed
by, t lie last first and the first last;
when you see this you may know
that the fime of my second coming
is at hand as surely as you know that
summer is nigh when the fig tree
puts forth its leaves; and when these
things commence that generation shall
not pass away until all are fulfilled.
We are living in the dispensation
and generation to which Jesus re-
ferred— the time appointed by God
for the last six thousand years,
through the mouths of all the prophets
and inspired men who have lived and
left their sayings on record, in which
his Zion should be built up and con-
tinue upon the earth. These pro-
phecies will have their fulfilment
before the world ; and all who will
not repent will be engulphed in the
destructions which are in store for
the wicked. If men do not cease
from their murders, whoredoms, and
all the wickedness and abominations
which fill the black catalogue of the
crimes of the world, judgment will
overtake them; and whether we are
believed or not, thfese sayings are
true, and I bear my testimony as a
servant of God and as an Elder in Israel
to the truth of the events which are
going to follow very fast on each other.
The Lord is going to make a short
work in the earth ; he is going to cut
it short in righteousness, or no flesh
would be saved. What Brother Rich
has said to-day is true. These prin-
ciples will sustain us Virtuous and
godly principles — the principles of
the Gospel will, in the end, come off
triumphant; and they will sustain
and preserve any people who practice
them, whether they are popular or
not in the estimation of the world.
I All who embrace the principles of
the Gospel of Christ will be saved by
them. He that abides a law will be
preserved by it. Any man who
abides the law of the Gospel will be
saved and receive exaltation and glory
I by it. Let us remember these things,
6 JOURNAL OF
for nil that has been spoken concern-
ing this Zion of God in the mountains
will come to pass. It is the work of
God, and his eyes are over it; the
heavens behold it. Every prophet
and Apostle whoever bore testimony
to this work is watching us with the
deepest interest ; they watch our
labors and faithfulness, and are
anxious about the course we pursue.
Many of them desired to live in our
day, but had not the privilege. We
have been permitted to see and live
in this great and eventful nge of the •
world. The God of heaven has put
into our hands the Gospel, the Priest-
hood, the keys of his kingdom, and
the power to redeem the earth from
the dominion of sin and wickedness
under which it has groaned for cen-
turies, and under which it groans 1
to*day. Let us lay these things to
heart, and try to live our religion ;
so that when we get through we may
look bfjck on oar lives, and feel that
we have done what was required of
us, individually and collectively. The
Lord requires much at our hands— r j
more than he has ever required of any
generation that has preceded us; for
no generation that has ever lived on
the earth was called upon to establish
the kingdom of God on the earth,
knowing that it should be thrown
down no more for ever, Daniel saw"
this; the Prophet Isaiah had spoken
of it; in fact three-fourths of all his
predictions relate to the establishment
of the kingdom of God in the latter
days; to our persecutions, to our
travels to these valleys of the moun-
tains, to the lifting up of the standard
to the people on the mountains of
Israel ; to the casting up of the great
highway — this national railroad,
which the ransomed of the Lord
should walk over, and on which the
Gentiles should come to the light of
Zion, and kings to the brightness of,
her rising, !
DT6C0UB8RS.
These things are to come to pass in
our day, and the beginning has com-
menced, and t Lie end will come by
the power of God and in fulfilment
of his promises; and it is at our
hands the work is required. There-
fore I feel to bear my testimony
to-day that this is the work of God,
that Joseph Smith wns a prophet of
God, and that Brig hum Young is a
prophet of God, and is inspired, led,
dictated and directed of ilie Lord,
and has been very profitable to the
Latter-day Saints, nud is doing all he
can for the salvation of the world.
So did Joseph Smith, while he lived.
He came in fulfilment of prophecy,
accomplished what was required of
him, laid the foundation of the work,
received the keys of the Priesthood
and Apostleship, and every gift and
grace in the organization of the
Church necessary to carry it on. We
I are called to build on the foundation
he laid, until Zion shall arise and put
on her beautiful garment a and the
I people of God become united as the
heart of one man; until the littlo
stone, cut out of the mountain without
hands, becomes a mountain and tills
, the whole earth, and accomplishes all
God has spoken concerning it
Brethren and sisters, let us unite
! together and be faithful, and live our
religion every day, and do our duty
in 1S71 as iu any of the years that
are past and gone since we have been
j acquainted with the Gospel of Christ.
If we do this we slntll come off*
triumphant. The God of heaven in
our friend, and blessed is that people
whose God is the Lord Blessed is
that people who do not turn to any
other God but the living and true God*
May God bless you, bless this
assembly, bless us as a people, and
the honest and meek ot the earth
everywhere, and prepare us for the
great eveuts which await this genera-
1 tion, for Jesus' sake, Amen.
THE BLESSING I OF JOSEPH, ETC* 7
DISCOURSE BY ELDER ORSON PRATT,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lakb City, Fbb. 19, 18T 1,
u
(Reported by John Q. Cannon.)
THE BLESSINGS OF JOSEPH — THE AMERICAN INDIANS.
I will call the attention of the
congregation to a portion of the word
of the Lord contained in the 3rd
chapter of Deuteronomy, commencing
at t lie* Kith verse. What I am about
to read is the word of the Lord
through Moses. " And of Joseph
he said, Blessed of the Lord be his
land, for the precious things of heaven,
for the dew, and for the deep that
coucheth beneath, and for the precious
ft uits brought forth by the sun, and
for the precious things put forth by
the moon, and for the chief things of
the ancient mountains, and for the
precious things of the everlasting
hills, and for the precious things of
the earth and the fullness thereof,
and for the good will of him that
dwelt in the bush ; let the blessing
come upon the head of Joseph, and
upon the top of the bead of him that
was separated from his brethren. His
glory is like the firstling of his
bullock, and his horns are like the
horns of unicorns; with them he
shall push the people together to the
ends of the earth ; and they are the
ten thousands of Ephraim, and they
are the thousands of Manasseh."
These words occurred to me after
rising to my feet, as the blessing of
Moses upon one of the tribes of Israel.
The Latter-day Saints are aware that
in ancient times men of God were
led by the spirit ot inspiration to
bless with prophetic blessings. Such
was the case in the days of Noah,
such was the case in the days of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and suet
was the case in the days of Moses.
Being prophets, the Lord inspired
them to know and understand the
future, to know what he intended to
perform and accomplish on the earth.
They understood by the spirit of
prophecy the blessings that would
come upon the righteous and the
curses that would come upon the
wicked. They understood that the
Lord would bestow blessings bounti-
fully upon those who would serve
him and keep his commandments.
Hence they predicted blessings upon
them, not only of a spiritual nature
but of a temporal nature, among
which farms were given to them,
kingdoms, thrones, and a great variety
ot blessings of a temporal nature were
oftentimes conferred by the spirit of
prophecy upon the descendants of
those whom the Lord delighted in.
Many prophecies are recorded in the
Book of Deuteronomy, pertaining to
, the twelve tribes, among which were
certain cursings if they did not keep
the commandments of the Lord, and
certain blessings inasmuch as they
would keep his commandments.
I Indeed, six of the tribes of Israel, or
men out of six tribes, representing
six of the tribes, were commanded to
go upon a certain mountain, and re-
presentatives uut of the other six tribes
were commanded to get upon another
mountain* The representatives on
one of these mountains were to pro-
nounce blessings on conditions, while
jotnfNAi, of Di>curnhK^
the others were to pronounce curses
also on conditions, Israel were to be
blessed in their basket and in their
store; in their goings out and in
their comings in ; blessed with all
the blessings of the earth in the land
of Palestine; blessed with the com-
forts and consolations of the Spirit ;
with revelations, with prophets, with
all the blessings that had been
enjoyed by their forefathers in the
days of their righteousness; but if
they would not do this, the others
upon the other hill were to curse
them ; they were to be cursed in their
basket and in their store; in the
increase of their fields and in their
flocks; cursed with all the plagues of
Egypt. Their enemies, though few
in number, should come against them,
and they, though many, should flee
before them. They should be dis-
persed until the latter days. In the
latter days the Lord would again
stretch forth his hand and would
bring them from all the nations of
the earth, where they have been
scattered, to their own hind of Canaan.
Almost the last thing that Moses
did among the children of Israel was
to pronounce separate blessings upon
each tribe, commencing with the first-
born, Reuben, taking them according
to their ages, pronouncing a variety
of blessings, spiritual and temporal,
upon the twelve tribes, until becomes
down to Joseph. The words which
I have read were the blessings upon
that tribe : " Blessed of the Lord be
bis land." It was a temporal blessing
then; it did not particularly have
reference to those spiritual blessings
that pertain to eternity, but it was a
temporal blessing. " Blessed of the
Lord be his land, for the precious
things of the earth, the precious
things of heaven, for the dew and for
the deep that concheth beneath. For
the precious fruits brought forth by
the sun, and for the precious things
put forth by the moon ; and the chief
tilings of the ancient mountains, and
for the precious things of the ever-
lasting hills, and for the precious
things of the earth and the fullness
thereof, and for the good will of him
that dwelt in "the bush; let the
blessing come upon the head of
Joseph and upon the top of the head
of him that was separated from his
brethren" You perceive, then, that
this blessing was of a temporal nature.
Now when Joseph entered the land
of Palestine he received an inheritance
with the rest of the tribes. Both
Ephraim and Manasseh received their
inheritances ; one of them received an
inheritance on the east side of Jordan ;
the other, Ephraim, received an in-
heritance on the west of Jordan in
connection with the rest of the tribes.
" Blessed of the Lord be his land ;"
and among the precious things that
were to be given were the precious
things of the earth and the fullness
thereof. What are we to understand
by the fullness of the earth ? I
understand it to mean the products
of all climates. Palestine is in the
temperate zone, and therefore pro-
duces fruite that are adapted to a
temperate climate, Let me refer you
to the blessing of Jacob, the father of
Joseph , upon Ephraim and Manasseh,
In the 48th chapter of Genesis we
read that Joseph brought up iiis two
sons to Jacob to receive his last
blessing. Jacob was blind, and when
Ephraim and Manasseh were brought
before him, Manasseh being the
oldest was brought before the old
Patriarch in such a way that the old
man would place his right hand upon
the first* born, and his left hand upon
(he younger, that the 6rst-born might
receive the prophetic blessing. Being
guided by the spirit of inspiration,
the old Patriarch crossed his hands
and laid his right hand upon the head
of the younger and his left hand upon
THK BLK8SISGS
the head of Manasseh and pronounced
his blessing He said that these two
sons of Joseph should become a great
people and a multitude of nations in
1 he rnidat of the earth. Now it would
lie very difficult for us to find the
descendants of Joseph — a multitude
of nations — anywhere on the eastern
continent. If we go among the
nations of Asia, the Chinese, the
Hindoos, &c, we can trace back their
history to early ages, and there is no
evidence that they are the descendants
of Joseph. If we go into the northern
portions of Europe, to Russia and
other countries, we find no evidence
that they are his descendants* If we
go among tbe various eastern nations,
we have no evidence that they are
the descendants of him, I don't know
any portion of the eastern continent,
in Europe, Asia, Africa, or Australia,
where we can find a multitude of
nations. When we come to America,
we have a large country, with every
variety of climate, temperate, torrid
and arctic, and every variety of tem-
perature. Jacob not only predicted
that his tribe should become a great
people — a multitude of nations — but
that they should be blest in a variety
of ways.
The great Prophet Jacob also pro-
nounced these remarkable words
nttered by inspiration ; " Joseph is a
fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough
by a well, for his branches shall run
over the wall." What a great pre-
diction about the tribe of Joseph !
There are several things to be
understood in the prophecy. First,
he should become a multitude of
nations. We understand what this
means. In the second place, his
branches should run over the wall.
Now what does this mean ? The
Lord in ancient times had a meaning
for everything. It means that his
tribe should become so numerous that
they would take up n\ore room than
OF JOSKPH, ETC, 1 9
one small inheritance in Canaan, that
they would spread out and go to some
land at a great distance. You recol-
lect that the Lord told Abraham to
get upon a hill and look forth to the
east and then to the west, then to the
north and to the south. For, saith
the Lord, " All the land thou seest I
will give to thee and thy seed for an
inheritance, for an everlasting pos-
session*" That was the blessing con-
ferred upon one of Jacob's progenitors.
| Isaac had also the same blessing.
Here Jacob wrestled with God or the
angel near to the brook Jabbok. It
will be recollected how Jacob sent
his wives over the brook and stayed
behind to wrestle with the angel, and
they \vrestled all night just as two
men would wrestle. The angel not
being able to overpower him by
physical strength alone, but by
miracle, touched the hollow of Jacob's
thigh and it was withered, and in
this way he was able to overpower
him. The Liord pronounced great
blessings upon his head, greater than
those of his progenitors. This is the
time that some say that Jacob re-
ceived his conversion ; but he did not
I repent of having more wives than
one. What ! was he a holy man of
God and had move wives than one ?
Yes ; and instead of turning them off,
he arranged them to go and meet his
brother Esau ; the first wife and her
l children, then the second with hers,
and so on, and when Esau saw them,
he inquired who they were ? Jacob
replied, M These are they whom God
hath graciously given to thy servant."
We have deviated a little from our
subject, but we will return to it.
Joseph's peculiar blessing, which I
have just read to you, was that he
should enjoy possessions above Jacob's
progenitors to the utmost hounds of
the everlasting hills. This would
seem to indicate a very distant land,
from Palestine. The old patriarch
10 JOURNAL OF
said, H I bestow this blessing upon
the head of him that was separated
from bus brethren.1' Of course such
a land must be large to contain a
mult tude of nations. It was to be
adapted to the fruits, vegetables and
grains of all climates ; the precious
things of the earth and the fullness
thereof. We may learn then, from
these facts, that the land was at a
great distance trom the land of
Palestine. Where can we find a
people who tolfil the terms of this
prophecy as well as the American
Indians ? Here are a great number
of nations. Go into the arctic regions
and you find nations; in British
America you find them scattered over
& vast area of country ; in the United
States there is a multitude of nations,
being driven west by the white men,
Go farther south into the provinces
of Mexico ; go through the isthmus
into South America and you n il] find
still numerous nations of Indians.
They have different languages, but
the roots of each language indicate'
that they have all sprung from the
same origin. How do you know that
they have sprung from one race of
people, or are of the same origin ?
Because learned men have studied
into the antiquities of our country,
Societies have been formed, among
which is the Antiquarian Society,
afterwards called the Etymological
Society, which discovered that the
roots of all the different languages
have a very close resemblance to the
Hebrew. But there is another thing
that will prove still iurther their
origin. W hen our fathers first settled
the New England States and pene-
trated into the country they dis-
covered that the Indians had certain
rites and ceremonies which they
observed, such as the new moon
sacrifices, &c. From these proofs we
conclude that they must have been
descendants of the Israel it ish nation.
DiBCOCitSIS.
Lord Kingsbury, a man who was once
very weal thy, expended about £80,000
sterling in getting up nine large
volumes giving accounts of these
antiquities. He had agents searching
in all the large libraries of Europe.
Imagine the immense amount of
manuscript writing, so voluminous as
to fill nine large volumes ! In these
volumes he brought forth all the
testimony in his power to prove that
the American Indians were Israelites.
But there was one thing that he could
not understand ; he found that the
ancient Indians understood something
about the Lord Jesus Christ. If he
had consulted the Book of Mormon,
he would have known why they knew
about Jesus.
Let me here observe that the Book
of Mormon, which has been published
for foriy-one years, gives an account
of the first settlement of this country
by these inhabitants, showing that
they are not the ten tribes, but they
are the descendants of one tribe, and
they came to this country about six
hundred years before Christ. The
people when they first landed con-
sisted of only two or three families ;
and instead of landing on the north-
west coast of North America, they
landed on the south-west const of
.South America. A history of the
escape of these few families from
Jerusalem is contained in the Book
of Mormon. How they traveled on
the eastern borders of the Red Sea,
and how they built a vessel or ship
to cross the Indian and Pacitic oceans ;
they were instructed how to build
this vessel, and when they had em-
barked on it, they were brought by
the special direction of the Lord to
this laud. He guided their vessel,
or instructed them how to guide it,
until they landed on the west coast
of South America. One portion had
become wicked and had apostatized
from the religion of their fathers and
T1IK BLESSINGS
OF JOSEPH, ETC.
11
sought the destruction of the righteous
portion. The righteous portion of
these families left the first settlement
and traveled several hundred miles
to the north, and formed settlements,
and became ft powerful nation. The
others — the wicked portion — became
a powerful nation. About fifty years
before Christ the Ne phi tea, as the 1
righteous portion was on lied, sent
forth numerous colonies into North
America* Among these colonies
there was one that came and settled
on the southern borders of our great
lakes. Both nations became very
wicked, notwithstanding their pro*
phets foretold great destruction if ;
tiiey would not repent. They pre-
dieted that at the time of the cruci-
fixion darkness, earthquakes and great
destruction of cities should transpire.
While they were standing near their
temple, conversing about this sign
which had been given (fchern of the :
crucifixion, they heard a voice in the
heavens, and they looked up and
beheld their ilessiah descending. He
came down and stood in their midst,
and showed them the scars in his
bands and feet, and in his Bide ; and
alter visiting them for several days
successively, he told them that he
was going to the ten tribes of Israel.
He also chose twelve disciples to
administer his Gospel on this land
and for the ministration of the Holy
Ghost. The twelve disciples went
forth and preached the Gospel, com-
mencing in South America, and then
went, into North America, until all
the people both in North and South
America were converted, receiving
the principles of the Gospel — namely,
baptism, and the laying on of hands,
and all the other principles as preached
in our day. About two centuries
after this, the Nephites fell into
wickedness : the Lamanites, who
dwelt in the southern portion of
South America, also apostatized ; and
they began to wage war with the
Nephite?, who were their enemies;
and being exceedingly strong they
drove all the Nephites out of South
America and followed them with their
armies up into the north country,
and finally overpowered them. They
weregithered together south of the
great lakes in the country which we
term New York. The Lord ordered
that the plates on which the records
wTere kept should be hid, and one of
the prophets knowing that it was the
last struggle of his nation, hid them
in the hill Cumorah, in Ontario
county, in the State of New York,
with the exception of those which his
son Moroni, who was also a prophet,
had. The last account that we have
is furnished to us bv Moroni, who
states that, after keeping himself hid
for several years, and being com-
manded of the Lord, he hid away the
records, about 420 years after Christ.
Thus, I have given you a very brief
history of the settlement of our
country.
In the year 1827 Joseph Smith,
then a young man, took these records
from their placje of concealment, and,
by the aid of the Urim and Thummioa,
translated them. In the presence of
three witnesses, the angel took the
plates and turned them over, leaf
after leaf^ showing them the charac-
ters thereon, and told them that they
had been translated correctly. They
were also seen by eight other men,
making twelve men in all, including
himself. Joseph Smith being in-
spired from on high, was commanded
to organize a Church, which he did
on the fith day of April, 1S30. It
was composed at first of six members.
Witnesses and preach ere went forth
into the States of this Union to preach
the Gospel, and many were led to
join the Church. It has steadily
progressed since the time of its first
organization until the present. The
Saints wpre driven from State to
St rite until they finally crossed the
Missouri river and came to these
valleys* Thus I have endeavored to
give you a very brief sketch of
the organization of this Church,
and it has been very brief indeed,
I see the time is up ; much more
might be said from the holy Bible in
relation to this great Latter-day work,
but time will not permit. Amen.
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH,
Delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 6, 1870.
(Reported by David W. Evans.)
HOME MANUFACTURES — UNION IN BUSINESS MATTERS.
In February, 1831, just after the
organization of the Church, we re-
ceived a revelation through Joseph
Smith, commanding the members of
the Church to let the beauty of their
garments be the workmanship of their
own hands. It reads as follows :
"And again, thou sh^lt not be proud
in thy heart ; let all thy garments be
plain, and their beauty the beauty of
the work of thine own hands ; and
let nil things be done in clean) intss
before me. Thou shalt not be idle ;
for he that is idle shall not eat the
bread nor wear the garments of the
laborer." Tin's revelation was given
almost forty years ago, but slowly,
very slowly, have we advanced in
fulfilling it; and it really seems that
some of the first commandments given
to the Church are amongst the lust
obeyed, I realize the reason of this,
when reflecting upon the great work
to be done in moulding the children
of God, gathered from the various
nations and denominations, with all
their prejudices, traditions, and varied
habits of living. They come here
filled with ideas averse to those of
God and differing from each other;
and under these circumstances it is
difficult for them to arrive at a one-
ness in their associations — to use an
expression common amongst us at the
present — it is difficult for them to
co-operate to build up Zion in the
last dnys. Enoch, the seven tli from
Adam, was three hundred and sixty-
five years preparing the people, before
the saying went forth : " Zion h?is
fled/* " Enoch was 25 years old
when he was ordained under the
hand of Adam, and he was 65 and
Adam blessed him, and he saw the
Lord, and he walked with him, and
was before his face continually ; and
he walked with God 3fi5 years, mak-
ing him 430 years old when he was
translated," Doc, and Cov,, sec. 3,
par, 24, Three hundred arid sixty-
five years teaching and instructing
the people, and setting examples
before them, and forming a city that
should be a model city of Zion, It
was in an age when men lived longer,
and when, perad venture, they had
HOUR MANUFACTURES, KTC,
IB
not become so full of tradition as at
the present day; yet when we con-
aider the time that it took Enoch to
accomplish this work, we have every
reason to rejoice at the progress of
Zion at the present time. Most of
the efforts we have made to advance
the cause of Zion we have been able
to carry through successfully. For
instance, when in the temple of the
Lord at Nauvoo, we entered into a
covenant that we would, to the extent
of our influence and property, do all
in our power to help our poor brethren
and sisters in emancipating themsel ves
from tyranny and oppression, that
they might come to the mountains,
where they could enjoy religious
liberty. Just as soon as food was
raised in this Valley this work con-
tinued, and every effort and energy
was used to fulfil this covenant. It
required unity of effort, but it has
been a success. Roads had to be
constructed, bridges built, ways
bought out, mountains, as it were,
torn down, deserts turned iutn fruitful
fields, and savages more wild than
the mountain gorges they inhabit
conciliated and controlled, and all
this to effect a purpose. But it has
been done by unity of effort, and
hundreds and thousands of Latter-
day Saints rejoice in the fact.
We extended our work of gathering
the Saints across the mighty deep,
and aided the poor brethren in Europe,
continuing our donations in money,
and, in addition to this, we went
with our hundred, two hundred, three
hundred or five hundred teams an-
nually across the great desert plains,
to bring home to Zion those who
desired to be gathered. This was
done by co-operation, by unity aud a
determined purpose.
It appears that we have gathered
many to Zion who do not fully
appreciate the great work of these
days — namely, to place the people of
God in a condition that thoy can
sustain themselves, against the time
that Babylon the Great shall fall.
Some will say that it is ridiculous to
suppose that Babylon, the " Mother
of Harlots," is going to fall. Ridi-
culous as it may seem, the time will
come when no man will buy her
merchandise, and when the Latter-
day Saints will be under the necessity
of providing for themselves, or going
without. 44 This may be a wild idea,"
but it is no more wil l or wonderful
than what has already transpired,
and that before our eyes. When we
are counseled to " provide for your
wants within yourselves," weareouly
told to prepare for that day. When
we are told, u Unite your interests
and establish every variety of business
that may be necessary to supply your
wants," we are only told to lay a plan
to enjoy liberty, peace and plenty.
Many years ago efforts were made
on the part of the Presidency to
extend the settlements into the warm
valleys south of the rim of the Basin.
The country was very forbidding and
sterile. Many were invited and called
upon to go and settle there. Numbers
went, but many of them returned
disheartened ; but the mass of those
who went, confident that the blessings
of God would be upon their labors,
pushed forth their exertions and built
up towns, cities and villages; they
established cotton fields and erected
factories, and supplied many wants
which could not be supplied within
the rim of the Basin,
It has been my lot to visit these
regions recently, and I have felt to
rejoice to see the kiod spirit, genial
dispositions and warm hearts chat
were manifested in all those settle-
ments, where men aud women had
taken hold with all their hearts to
ubey the commandments of God, and
to lay a foundation for Zion to become
self-suataiuing. I feel that those wh
H
JOURNAL OF BlSCOCHaK^
have turned away from that country
and swerved from the mission assigned
them there have lost a great and
glorious blessing, which it will be
exceedingly difficult for them ever to
regain. I am exceedingly gratified
at the progress which has been made
in thai country, and I realize that our
brethren, from year to year, are
becoming more and more united.
Some tell us that we want capital,
and that we should send abroad and
get men to come here with money to
build factories. This is not what we
need. If the cotton lord and the
millionaire come here and hire you
to build factories and pay you their
money for their work, when the
factory is erected they own it, and
they set their price upon your labor
and your wool or cotton — they have
dominion over you. But if, by your
own efforts and exertions, you co-
operate together and build a factory
it is your own. You are the lords of
the land, and if fortunes are made
the means is yours and it is used to
oppress no one. The profits are
divided among those whose labor
produced it, and will be used to build
up the country. Hence it is not
capital, that is, it is not so much
money that is needed. It is unity of
effort on the part of the bone, sinew,
skill and ingenuity which we have in
our midst, and which, in whatever
enterprise has been attempted
hitherto, under the direction of the
servants of the Lord, with whole-
souled unity on the part of the people,
has proved successful. Let us be
diligent in these things. Why send
abroad for our cloth when we have
the necessary means and skill to
manufacture it tor ourselves? Why
not let these mountains produce the
fine wool ? and why not let the low
valleys produce the silk, flax, and all
other articles that are necessary which
it is possible to produce within the
range of our climate, and thus secure
to ourselves independence ? lam
very well aware that this has looked,
and to many still looks, a wild under-
taking; but that which has been
accomplished gives abundant evidence
of what may be. If we cbntinue to
import our hats, bonnets, boots, shoes
and clothing, and send away all the
gold, silver and currency that we cart
command to p iy for them, we shall
ever remain dependent upon the la* or
of others for many of the actual
necessaries of life. If, on the other
hand, we devise means to produce
them from the elements by our own
labor we keep our money at home,
and it can be used for other and more
noble purposes, and we become in-
dependent.
Some mny say, " We are willing
that yoo should preach faith and
repentance, and baptism for the
remission of sins, but we do not want
you to have anything to say about
business matters." No idea could be
more delusive ; this oversight in
temporal matters being indispensably
necessary; for the Latter-day Saints
have been gathered from the old
settled nations of the earth and are
unacquainted with the manner of life
in new and sparsely settled countries.
An intelligent citizen of Provo, on
his arrival in this country, came to
ray garden to work ; he undertook to
set out some vegetables — onions,
carrots, and parsnips, and he set
every one of them wrongs id e up. My
wife went out, and, seeing what he
was doing, she said, u You are foolish."'
* Why so?'1 said he, "I thought I
was pretty smart," " Why you have
planted these things all wrong end
up/' u Have I, I did not know any
better, I never saw such things
planted before." That man became
a wealthy farmer. But he had to
learn ; he had never seen a carrot
planted to produce seed in his litet
THK FASHIONS OF THK WORLD, KTC
15
and did not realize which end up to
put it in the ground. We have tens
of thousands of men, women and
children who have had to learn how
to ^et a living in this country, who
perhaps had spent their days in
painting a tea cap, turning a bowl,
weaving a ribbon or spinning a thread,
and knew nothing else. Here they
have had to work at several kinds of
work at once, and had to learn how,
and it required all the power, energy
and influence of the Elders of Israel
to instruct them and tell them how
to live, i have been astonished at
the patience, perseverance, deter m i--
tion and incessant labor of President
Young ii> giving these instructions —
telling* men how to build mills and
houses, so that they would not fall
over their own heads ; telling them
how to yoke cattle, harness horses,
how to make fences, and, in fact, how
to do almost eveiy kind of business.
There are very few in our midst
now who know how to make good
bread. I advise the ladies' relief
societies to teach all the sisters to
make first-class bread. Many of them
do not know how; and let every
sister in Israel be thankful for in*
strnctiou in relation to cooking or
any other useful information that can
be imparted unto her. Do not let
pride and independence make you
\ feel that you know how to do every-
thing. There are a great many things
that the smartest among us do not
know how to do ; then we should be
anxious and willing to be taught, and
go to work and learn.
! Much of the sickness which is
amongst our children is the result of
improperly prepared food. We raise
choice wheat ; our millers make good
flour, yet in many instances bread is
so prepared that it is heavy and un-
palatable, causing disease of the
stomach and bowels, with which many
ol our little ones are afflicted, and
find rest in premature graves. Give
the children good light bread that
they may be healthy.
Brethren and sisters, may the
blessings of Israel's God be upon you
and may you continue to improve in
everything useful and good. Seek
after the L*ord with all your hearts.
Co-operate in building factories, im-
porting merchandise and machinery,
taking care of your cattle, and in
- every kind of business. Remember
that, " United we stand, divided we
fall.'*
May God bless j ou for ever. Amen.
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG,
Delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake Citt, May 6, 1870.
(Reported by David W. Evans.)
THE FASHIONS OF THE WORLD — MAKING OUR OWN CLOTHING & FASHIONS.
If I can have the ears and attention condition and on some particulars
of the people, 1 want to preach to with regard to our customs. We,
them a short sermon on our present the Latter-day Sainte, as a people,
16 JOURNAL OP
received a command many years ago
to gather out from the wicked world
and to gather ourselves together to
stand in holy places, preparatory to
the corning of the Sun of Man. We
have been gathered together pro-
miscuously from the nations of the
e firth, and in many respects we are
like the rest of the world. But I
wish to make a few remarks on some
points wherein we differ. We differ
from the infidel world in onr belief,
and from the vulgar world in regard
to the language we use. It is not !
common for the Latter-day Saints to
take the name of the Deity in vain,
while it is copimon and ijuite fashion-
able to do so in Christendom. Herein !
we disagree with the outside world,
or we may call jit the vulgar world,
for no matter how high or how iow
■ their position may be, or how poor or
how$. wealthy, when people use lan-
guage which ia unbecuining they
descend to a very low level, and in
this respect I am happy to say that
the Latter-day .Saints differ iron), the
wicked or vulgar world, I will also \
put in the political worid. It is a
very common practice throughout*
the fashionable, political world to\
gamble j we differ also in this respect, i
for the Latter-day Saints are not in
the habit of gambling at any game
whatever ; neither are they in the !
habit of drinking intoxicating liquors,
which, throughout the world at large,
and especially the Christian world, is
such a pi olitic source of wretchedness
and misery. In a great degree, I
may also say that, as a people, we
are got in the habit of lying and i
deceiving; but there is one thing
that we are too much guilty of, and
that is, evil & peeking of our neighbors
—bearing false witness against them.
As a people we ate too lavish in our
conversation in this respect, our words
come too easy and cheap, and we use
them too freely in many instances.
DISCOUH6ES-
This is one thing in which we do not
differ so much from the world as I *
should wish, There i? another point
on which the s:ime remark is true,
and that is fashion in dress. Look
over this congregation and we see
i his demonstrated before us, and on
this particular item I wish to lay my
views before the minds of the people.
To me & desire to follow the ever-
varying fashions of the world mani-
fests a great weakness of mind in
either gentleman or lady. ..-We are
too apt to fo low the foolish fashions
of the world ; and if means were
plentiful, I do not tliink that there
I are many families among the Latter*
day Saints but what would be np to
the highest and latest fashions of the
day* Perhaps there are a great many
that would not follow these fashions
had they ever so much means. But
too many of this people follow after
the foolish, giddy, vain fashions of
, the world. It any persons want proof
of this they need only look over this
congregation, and view the bonnets,
ihats or headdresses of our fashionable
ladies. Da they wear bonnets that
will .screen their faces from the sun,
or shelter their heads from the rain ?
Oh, no, it is not fashionable. Well
what do they wear ? Just such as
the wicked would wear.
My discourse will have to be "brief,
and I am going to ask my sisters" in
particular to stop following thesd
foolish fashions, and to introduce
fashions of their own. This is the
\ place, and this the time to make
known the word of the Lord to the
people.
~ It is vain and foolish, it does not
evince godliness, and is inconsistent
'with the spirit of a saint to follow
after the fashions of the wot Id, I
wish to impress these remarks espe-
cially on the minds of my young
siaters — the daughters of the Elders
of Israel. Not but what our wives
THE FASHIONS OP THE WORLD, ETCL
17
as well as daughters follow many
fashions that are uncomely, foolish
and vain. What do you say ? " Shall
we introduce a fashion of onr own,
and what shall it be ?" Do yoa want
us to answer and tell yoa; how to
make your bonnets ? Let nie say to
you that, in the works of pod, you
see an eternal variety, consequently*
we do not ask the people to become 1
Quakers, and all the men wear wide-
brimmed hats, and the ladies wear
drib or cream-colored sifk bonnetft
projecting in the front, perl^pj six or
seven inches, rounded on tfye corners,
with a cape behind. This ih Quaker?
ism, that is, so far as headdresses are
conceTnetl for ladies and gentlemen.
But while we do not ask this, we dof
ask the sisters to make thdir bonnets
so 09 to shelter themselves? from the
stdrm and frofg the rays qf the sun.
I have heard a saying Jhat three
strata and a ribbon would make a
liearld nms tor a fashionable J ady. This
was a year or two ago j &nA the same
varying, fantastic, fooliih notions
prevail with regard to "ther portions'
of a lady's habiliments is much as"
with her headdress* A few years ago'
it tpok about sixteen yarps of com
mou-width cloth to makeja drrss for
a lady* for shi^wanted tw[p or three
yards to drag in the streets, to he
smeared by every imisancf she walked
over. Now I suppose (they make1,
thoir dresses out of fivefyards and a
half, and then have abundance left
for an apron. They put me now
strongly in mind of the ladies I used'
to see in Canada some y^firs ago, who |
maile their dresses out of two hvead th$
of tow and linen, and whfen they werdp
in meeting they were all the time
busy pulling them down, for they
would draw up. The young ladies
look now as if they netted somebody ;
to walk after them to j keep pulling
dowp their dresses* I J[ ^ _ Jj
How ft-olish and unwise this is,
No. 2. f
and how contrary to the spirit of the
Gospel that we have embraced ! This
Gospel is full ot good sense, judgment,
discretion and intelligence Does
this look intelligent? Suppose the
ladies con tin ue the fashion of shorten-
ing their dresaes how long will it ue
before three-quarters of a yard will be
enough for them ? You may say
that such extravagant comparisons
are ridiculous. I say, no more thin
your dresses and many of your haoits
and fashions now, only they may be
a little exaggerated, that is all. Any-
thing is ridiculous, more or less, that
is not comely* I do keseech niy
sisters to stop their foolishtK s^ atidt
to go to work and make their 6\tn
heat Ureases, If they will thejr Will
be blessed. Do you say, ** Mow shall
we be blessed ?n I will tell yoa — by
introducing a sp rit ot industry into
jour families, and a spirit of content
ment into your hearts, which will
give yoo an interest in your domestic
cared and affairs that you have not
h i therto enjoy ed . Doc toi Ytjuhg say b
** Life's cares are comfor ts/^^^
and they who take an interest ill atid
try to'proraote their individual wel-
fare, that of tliL-i r neighbors or of the
human family, will find a plea&rrfre
such as is derived trom few other
Purees. They derive delight jlAd
pleasure from it, and are filled Willi
peace. But when the eyes of people
are tike the fool's eyes — wandermg
to ttie ends' of " the earth, continually
wishing, longing for and desiring that
which they have not got, they ave
never happy. If we will lake thf>
course 1 have indicated, we shall im
benefited in bur spirits, and shall have
more of the Spirit of ihe Lord. 1
' I wish to suy to you, and you may
read it in the Bible if you wish, t^at
he who has the love of the worlcft
within him hath not the love of thd
Father. They who love the thing?
Vol. XXV.
16
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES
of this world are destitute of the love
of the Gospel of the Sou of God.
Tliis is my Scripture : They who long
and lust after the fashions of the
world are destitute of the Spirit of
God* Every person of experience
will testify that this is the truth.
Now, my sisters, let me urge you to
make your own headdresses. You
have the material here, and if yoa
wish to make your hat with a brim
eix, twelve, twenty, or three inches
wide, we will not quarrel with you ;
but make your own headdresses, and
do not ha tit after the fashions of the
wicked world If you wish to make
a cottage, or a corn-fan bonnet, or a
hat, make it to suit yourselves, but
do not ran after the fashions of the
world. I expect, by and by, if this
taste for fashion be not checked, to
see this house alive, more or less,
with what are termed u shoo fly n
hats, bonnets and headdresses; and
what else you'll get I do not know.
But no matter what the name nor
what the fashion if we do not Inst
after the wicked world. And when
yoa bay yourselves dresses do not
purchase one for six or eight dollars,
and then want about twenty more
for trimmings. What is the use of
of it? 1 asked some of my wives,
the other evening, ** What is the use
of ^11 this velvet ribbon — perhaps ten,
fifteen, twenty, or thirty yards, on a
linsey dress : " Said I, " What is
the use of it ? Do it do any good ? "
I, was asked, very spiritedly and
promptly, in return, u What good do
those buttons do on the back of your
co*t ?" Said I, " How many have I
got?" and turning round I showed
that there were none there.
This reform in fashion and extra-
vagance in dress is needed. God has
a purpose iu it, and so have his
servants. What is it ? It the Lord
bag given me means and I spend it
tieedlessly, iu rings for my fingers,
and jewelry for adornment, I deprive
the Priesthood of that which they
ought to have to gather the poor, to
preach the Gospel, to build temples
and to feed the hungry in our laidst.
I deprive a people, who will by stdd
by inherit the earth, of so many
blessings. Every yard of ribbon* that
I buy that is needless, every flounce,
and every gewgaw that is purchased
for my family needlessly, robs the
Church of God^f just so much. But
it seems as though the people do not
think of these things ; they def not ^
lay them to heart. Gar wives and
daughters seem to forget that they
have responsibilities resting upon
them in these respects. The conduct
of a great many o^ them' indicates a
care for nothing but, ** How much can
I get? Can I get everything I
want ? I wish I could see something
new, I want to pattern after it!"
This manifests the spirit of the world,
and a foolish, vain disposition. Not
but that I am guilty myself, perhaps,
of using means for my individual
person that is not necessary ; but if
I do, will some of you kindly tell
me? I recollect once, when preach-
ing in England, that I passed through
Smithfield Market, iu Manchester,
and I saw some very fine grapes j ust
arrived from France. - I spent a penny
for some of them, but I had not taken
half a dozen steps from the stand
where I purchased them, before I saw
an old lady passing along who, I could
tell by her eppearance, was starving
to death . Said I, " I have done wrong
in spending that penny, I should have
given it to that old lady." I made it
a practice, before leaving my office,
of going to a drawer, taking out a
handful of pence, in order to give to
the numerous beggars which every-
where meet the eye in walking the
streets in the large towns in that
country, and in this instance I felt
guilty at having spent a penny in .
THE FASHIONS OF THE WOKLD, ETC.
19
grapes, and I thought of it many
times After. What else did I spend
needlessly? Not much u Well,"
but say some, " Brother Brigham do
not yo'u have good horses?" Yea,
I do. Do you know where I got
them ? But some of them were
given to me, and I thank God and
those who bestowed them, and I use
them prudently. But I would as lief
my poor brethren and sisters would
ride in my carriage as to ride in it
myself. Yet in many things I may
be to blame, and do wrong, bat in
many things I know that we as a
people do wrong.
t£ Well, Brother Brighara, what
shall we do ?" 1 say make your own
headdresses; here is abundance of
material to do it with, and it is not
right for me to pay out hundreds and
perhaps thonsanda of dollars annually
for needless articles of dress for my
family. The same is true of my
brethren. If that means were to go
to gather the poor this season, it
would bring many from the old
countries. About tins, however, I
will say that it is rather -discouraging
to bring people here and to put them
in situations to live and accumulate,
and then they, as soon as they make
a little means,* lift tbeir heel against
God and Ins anointed. Nevertheless
it is our duty to feed nine persons
who are unworthy rather than to
turn away the tenrh, if he be worthy.
It is better to bring ninety-nine
persons here who are unworthy than
to leave one that is worthy to perish
there, consequently we say we will
do all we can. They, whom we bring
here, are agents for themselves before
God, and they act for themselves.
But now, brethren and sisters, let
us stop and again consider and think
Can we not sustain ourselves more
than we do ? I do not ask my sisters
to make themselves suubonnets and
wear them and nothing else. I do
not say, all of you adopt some par-
ticular fashion and stick to that alone,
Tliis is not the question j the question
is, will we stop wearing that that is
so useless and needless ? If we willf
we can have scores of thousands
annually t j bestow upon the poor, to
rear temples, to build tabernacles and
schoolhonses, to endow schools, to
educate our children, and to aid every
charitable institution and every other
purpose that will advance the kingdom
of God on the earth.
This would be wisdom in us. What
do we>.think about it P What do you
say, young ladies — I mean all of you
this side of a hundred years old — will
you stop following the foolish fashions
of the world, and begin to act like
people possessing moral courage and
good natural sense ? If this is your
mind, brethren and sisters, I ask you,
young and old, to make it manifest,
as I do, by raising your right hand.
(A se* of hands was immediately
raised.) Some, no doubt, feel ready
to say, '* Why, Brother Brigham, do
not you know that your family is the
most fashionable in the city?" Nof
I do not; but I am sure that my
wives and children, in their fashions
and ge.vgawa, cannot beat some of
my neighbors. I will tell you what
L have said to my wives and children ;
shall I ? Shall I expose what I say
to them on these points ? Yes, I
will, I have said to my wives, * If
you will not stop these foolish fashions
and customs I will give you a bill if
you want it.'* That is what I have
said, and that is what I think.
u Well, but you would not part with
your wives?*' Yes, indeed I would*.
I am not hour id to wife or child, to
house or farm, or anything else on
the face of the earth, but the Gospel
of the Son of God. I have enlisted
all iu this cause, and in it is my heart,
and here is my treasure. Some may
say, " Why, really, Brother Brighatu,
/
20 JOURNAL OF
yoo almost worship your family ; you
think a great deal of yonr wived."
Yes, I do, but, from my youth up, I
never li»d but one object in taking a
wife, Hiid that was to do her good,
The first one I had was the poorest
girl I could find in the town ; and
my object with the second, and third,
and so on to the last one was to save
them. You say, " Do I humor them?H
Yes I do, and perhaps too much.
Now, my brethren and si*ters, a
few words more. We have been
striving for some time to get the
people to observe the Word of Wis-
dom, But why do they not observe
it? Why will they cling to those
habits that are inimical to life and
health? "Well," says a sister, "I
cannot leave oft* my tea, I munt have
a cup of tea every morning, 1 feel bo
sick." 1 say then, go to bed, and
there lie until yon are better. "Oh,
bnt it will kill me if I quit it."- Then
die, and die in the faith, instead of
living and breaking the requests qt
Heaven. That is my mind about the
sisters dying for -the want of tea.
With regard to drinking liquor, I am
.happy to say that we are improving.
Bat there are some of onr Elders who
still drink a Hi tie liquor occasion silly,
I think, aid use a little tobacco."
Tbey feel as though they would die
without it, bat I say they will die
with it, «nd they will die transgressing
the revelations and commands of
Heaven, and the wishes of our
heavenly Father, who has said hot
drinks ate not good.
Now Irt us observe the Word of
Wisdom. Shall I take a vote on it ?
Everybody would vote, bat who would
observe it? A good many, but not
all. 1 chij say that a good many do
observe their covenants in this thing.
But who is it that understands wisdom
before God ? In some respects we
have to define it for ourselves — each
for himself — according to our own
DISCOURSES,
views, judgment and faith, and the
observance of the Word of Wisdom,
or the interpretation of God's re*
quirenients on this subject, must be
left, partially, with the people. We ^
cannot make laws like the Medes and
Persians. We cannot say you shall
never drink a cap of tea, or you shall
t never taste of this, or you shall never
taste of that; but we can say that
| Wisdom is justified of her children./
Brethren and sisters, hearken to these
things. I do not know that we shall
have much time to talk about them;
but take the little counsel given, and
observe it. This is the place to give
counsel to the people. Go home,
Bishops and Elders, when the Con-
ference is over, and observe what has
been told you here. If we commence
making our own bonnets, we shall
lind that we shall increase in other
directions besides making leather for
onr boots and shoes, and cloth for
coats and pantaloons.
It is very pleasant in passing
'h rough the Territory to have brethren
in the var ous settlements say, ** Bro,
Brigharn, Brother Geo. A., or Brother
Daniel, come and see our. store, or our
shop ; here are boots and shoes made
from leather of our own manufacture
and some are as fine looking as you
can see anywhere. They are doing a
good deal in this city, and also in
other places Some are making straw
hats and bonnets, and others are en*
deavoriiig to promote other branches
of home manufacture. This is very
pleasant, but we want to see it more
general in this great community. If
it were ho this season in the one
branch of straw hat and bonnet manu-
facture we should not see the scores
and hundreds of five-doll r hats
brought here and sold, that are good "
for nothing in the world* They have
no strength about them. The mauu-
laciureis of these hats pick up old
I cloth that is rotten and good lor
THE FASHIONS OF THE WORLD, ETC. 21
nothing, and make hats of it, and
the result is that the hats brought
here have very little wear in them*
They may look decent to begin with,
but after being worn a few times they
are shapeless and worthless. Let as
go to work and make them for our-
selves and save this expense. If we
do this, we are wise ; if we do it not,
we are foolish
We heard Brother Taylor's exposi-
tion of what is called Socialism this
mo rn i ng. W hat can they do ? Li ve
on each other and beg. It is a poor,
unwise and very imbecile people who
cannot take care of themselves. Well,
we, in the providences of God, are
forced to do a great many things that
are very advantageous to ns, L*et us
observe the Word of Wisdom, and
also begin and manufacture our cloth-
ing. We are doing a good deal now,
but let us do more. I have learned
one fact that is very gratifying : A
few years ago when we commenced
our little factories here we could
obtafti no wool — the sheep were not
taken care of. A scon as we com-
menced to manufacture cloth and to
distribute it among the people, taking
their wool in exchange, we found that
the wool increased; and this season,
if we had had the factory, in course of
construction at Provo, finished, the
supply of wool would have been so
great that the factory would have
been overstocked, . Some idea may
be formed of the great increase in the
supply of wool when X state that the
Pruvo factory, when running, will be
capable of making perhaps ten or
twelve hundred yards of cloth per
day. This is pleasing. Let us get
factories built, I find they are
building South, and they are prepar-
ing to build North ; and pretty soon
you will see the brethren, as a general
thing, dressed in home-made.
Some here are thinking, probably:
■" Brigham, why don't you dress in
home-made?" I do. "Well, have
you got it on to-day ?" No, but I
w^nt to wear out, if I can, what I
' have on hand. I give away a suit
, every little while, and I would like to
give some more away if I could find
anybody my clothes would fit I
travel in home-made and wear it at
home. As for fashion, it does not
trouble me, my fashion is convenience
and comfort. The most comfortable
, coat that a man can wear in my
opinion is what the old Yankees and
Eastern and Southern people call a
" warmus." Some of the people here
know what 1 mean ; it is something
between an overshirt and a blouse,
buttons round the neck and wrists.
I have worked in one many a day.
If I introduce the fashion of .wearing
them here who will follow4 it? I
i expect a good many would. I recol-
lect that I wore one when Colonel
Kane was here. Said he, 14 1 am
gratified to see that you do not ask
any odds about the fashions, yon have
one of your own,'* My feelings then,
as now, were, whatever, in Brother
Brigham's judgment, is comfortable
and comely is the fashion with himf
and he cares nothing about the
fashions of the work]. There is a
style of pantaloons very generally
worn, about which I would say some-
thing if there were no ladies here.
When I first saw them I gave them
a name, 1 never wore them ; I con-
sider them uncomely and indecent.
But why is it that they sire worn so
generally by others ? Becau&e they
are fashionable. If it were the
fashion to go with them unbuttoned
I expect you would see plenty of our
I Elder a wearing them unbuttoned*
This shows the power that fashion
exerts over the majority of minds.
; You may see it in the theatre; if you
I! had attended ours recently you might
have seen that that was not comely ;
you might have seen Mazeppa ride,
22
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
■
with but a very small amount of \
clothing on. In New York I am
told it is much worse* I heard a
gentleman say tTiat a full dre&s for
Hazeppa there was one Government
Stamp. I do not know whether it is
so or not Fashion has great influence
everywhere, Salt Lake not excepted.
No matter how ridiculous, the fashions
must 'be followed. If it be for the
ladies to have their dresses to drag
along the streets, or so short that they
show their garters, we see it here;
the game is true if they are sixteen or
twenty- four feet round, or so tight
that they can hardly walk. A great
many seem to regard and follow
t ash ion, with all its follies and
vagaries, far more fervently than
duty. How foolish is such a course.
I liave talked long epougb. God
bless you,
DISCOURSE BY ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON,
Delivered in tiie Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, January 8, 1871.
(Reported by David W. Evans.)
STIRRING TIMES— THE LATTER-DAY WORK.
In rising to address you this after-
noon, brethren and sisters, I crave
an interest in your faith and prayers,
that I may be led to speak upon those
subjects and to advance those ideas
that shall be instructive to you and
adapted to your circumstances and
condition.
I have acted in the ministry since
my boyhood, but whenever I am
called upon to speak I do so with
great diffidence and fear. I do not
know that the feeling can ever be
conquered entirely, in , fact, I do not
know that I wish that it could ; for if
a man could arise and feel perfectly
capable, in find of himself, to speak
to the edification of the people,
judging*by my own experience in the
matter, I imagine that he would have
but very little aid from the Lord.
But if -he rise depending upon the
Lord, and not upon his own strength,
the Lord has promised to render that
aid unto his servants t hat is necessary
tu enable them to testify to the truth,
and to cleanse tbeir garments of the
Jjlood of -this generation.
There is no lack of topics or sub-
ject matter in dwelling upon the
work we are engaged in ; the range
is an extensive one; but it needs the
Spirit of God to select, out of the
variety of subjects which it presents,
those points, doctrines, and counsels
that should be touched upon to edify
the people in the circumstances which
surround them. The older I grow,
the more convinced I am that we as
a people and as individuals need
practical instructions in what may be
termed our every-d ay duties. It is
delightful to reflect and speak upon,
and to sit and have held up before
our minds the course pursued by
those who were our predecessors in
STIRRING TIMES, ETC*
S3
the Gospel. It is also eqnally delight-
ful, when inspired by the Spirit of
God, to contemplate the future with
its great events, which the prophets
foresaw, and concerning which they
have written so much.
As a generation, we live in a busy,
stirring time — a time that is full of
important events, one treading upon
the heels of another so rapidly that
we have scarcely time to contemplate
the past — even the past of our own
history ; and we have but little time
to loot forward to the future, only as
it is necessary to comfort and to cheer |
us, The work of God is rushing
forward with extraordinary speed,
and the Lord is operating in a most
signal manner to bring to pass his
grejit and marvellous designs and
purposes ; and to no eyes are these
things clearer than to those of the
Latter-day Saints, especially those
w hose minds are enlightened by the
Spirit of God, and who seek for the
inspiration thereof to guide them in
their every -day affairs.
It has been frequently remarked
that we as a people are entirely too
egotistical ; that we imagine that
God, in his operations and dealings
with the children of men, has selected
us iind made us the peculiar recipients
of his blessings to the exclusion of
the n st of the human family, 1 have
heard it very frequently remarked,
when conversing with persons re-
specting our views and doctrines,
that we confine our attention entirely
too much to ourselves and the little
work with which we are identified,
forgetting that we are but a small
handful of the great human family.
I have also heard it remarked that it
was entirely too much to expect that
a people, so insignificant as we are
numerically, should anticipate the
great results that we speak about (
very frequently, and which, from the
writings of ancient prophets and of
those who have lived contempo-
raneously with us, we are led to
anticipate will be fulfilled in our
case. Men say, in speaking of us :
M Do you Latter-day Saints, who in
Utah and the adjoining Territories
number probably one hundred and
fifty or two hundred thousand, and it
may be a few hundred thousand else*
where, recollect; or do you ever
consider, that the nation of which you
form an integral part, numbers forty
millions, and that there are hundreds
of millions of human beings scattered
over the face of the earth who are
not of your creed ? Do you re collect
that yon are very contemptible in
point of numbers, Influence and
wealth and everv thing that constitutes
greatness in the earth ?" If we were
disposed to forget these things there
are those around us with whom we
are brought into frequent contact,
who take great and especial pains to
remind us of our insignificance, so
that I think there is bo real dangr*
of our entirely forgetting it But
though we are few in numbers, we
declare that the oracles of God are
with us, and that he has chosen the
Latter-day Saints to he his peculiar
people and has placed upon them bin
name, or the name of his Sou Jesus
Christ, and has called us to be
ministers of life and salvation, to be
the founders of a new ordei of things
on the earth, and to be the means in
his hands, as we firmly believe and
testify, of effecting a 'wonderful revo-
lution in affairs. Yet, while believing
this, the Latter-day faints are not so
uncharitable as to imagine that they
are the only ones with whom God is
dealing, or that they are the only
people over and towards whom his
providences are being exercised. Such
a thought has never entered into the
hearts of those who are intelligent
and reflecting: in the Church of Jems
Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is
JOURNAL UF
DISCOURSES.
true that we believe and testify that
we have been called to proclaim the
everlasting Gospel in its ancient
parity and simplicity, with the pleni-
tude of its gifts and graces as enjoyed
in ancient days ; and that we have
Leen called lo lay the foundation of
that work which is destined to grow,
increase and spread until it fills the
whole earth from north to south, from
east to west. Yet we do not on this
account arrogate to ourselves all the
kindness, mercy, care, and goodness
which God dispenses to his creatures
on the earth ; but we firmly believe
that in every nation, and among every
kindred, tongue and people, and, in
fact, in every creed on the face of
the wide earth of ours there are those
over whom God watches with peculiar
care and to whom his blessings are
extended ; and we believe that his
providences are over all the works of
his hands, and that none are so
remote,* friendless and isolated that
they are not the objects of his care,
mercy and kindness. This is our
belief ; and when we see the events
which are taking place at the present
time in Europe, when we bear of
revolutions and wars, of nation rising
against nation, of the various judg-
ments and calamities as well as the
various kindnesses and mercies that
arc bestowed upon and extended to
the inhabitants of the earth, and to
the various nationalities into which
they are divided, we see in all these
things the band of our kind and
beneficent Creator ; we see his provi-
dences, we behold bis going forth,
and we acknowledge bis goodness;
and we also think that we can discern
his overruling care and providence
for the bringing to pass the great
events of which he has spoken, which
will eventually result in the emanci-
pation of our race from the thraldom
of evil under which it groans. j
It is true, as I hare already re-
marked, that God has called us out
of the nations to be his peculiar
people; but we are not the only ones
who will be so called. The message
which came to us and which we re-
ceived and were made glad thereby,
is sent to every kindred, tongue and
people on the face of the whole earth.
It has gathered us out to be the
pioneers in this great work ; but the
call is not ended nor the period
at rived when it shall no longer be
proclaimed by our being gathered
together. It is still in force, and has
to be carried throughout earth's wide
domain, until the reverberation thereof
shall be heard in every land, and men
rf ,,ery natality, tongue and creed
shall have heard and had a chance to
receive or reject the glad tidings of
salvation which have been committed
unto us.
The dealings of God with our own
nation, the singular events which are
transpiring at the present time on
the continent of Europe, the revolu-
tions that are taking place in Asia,
and the wars and commotions that
seem to convulse most of the nations
of the earth, have all for their object,
as we believe, the preparation of the
way by which this great message can
be carried more freely, and its prin-
ciples declared more thoroughly to
all the inhabitants of the earth. The
Prophets looked down to the days of
the future and they saw in vision that
God would perform a great and
mighty work in the midst of the
inhabitants of the earth. They wrote
about it, and some of the finest writing
in the Bible contains glorious allusions
to the last days, when God should
stretch forth his arm in mighty
power in the midst of his people and
accomplish a great and marvellous
work — a work that should be a
wonder in the eyes of all people. The
religious sects of Christendom, for
hundreds of years, have looked forward
STIRRING TIMES, ETC.
25
I
to the accomplishment of these pre-
dictions, and the hope of this has
cheered them in their operations,
labors, expenditures, and in every
effort they haye made for the re-
demption of the race and its enlighten-
ment in the principles of Christianity.
To accomplish the fulfilment of the
predictions contained in the Bible
they have used every means in their
power ; but they have uot met with
the success which they desired. Still,
so firm has been their faith in these
predictions, that they have persevered,
although the result of their labors,
take it as a rule, has not been of- ft
cheering character. Tract societies,
Bible societies, missionary societies,
and societies of almost every kind
and description have been organized
with the best of motives, and with
vast expenditures of means, for the
purpose of fulfilling the predictions
of the prophets concerning the in-
habitants of the earth. But there
has been a power lacking, there has
been an influence wanting; there has
not been that union, blessing of heaven
and that providential combination of
circumstances necessary to bring to
pass the results desired. Man may
toil, labor and expend his means and
forces, and may bring to his aid all
the wisdom of which he is the pos-
sessor to bring about divine results ;
but unless God give the increase, as
the Scriptures say, his labors will be
fruitless. This has been signally
fulfilled in the results which we see
around us at the present time in
Christendom, for their efforts have
not been crowned with success. Travel
through the most Christian nations
to-day, and there is no disguising the
fact that they are the most deeply
steeped in wretchedness and wicked-
Dess. It is true that men live in the
midst of these things until they
become so accustomed to them as to
adcept them as a necessary condition
of affairs. They may say it has been
so from the beginning and will be bo
to the end, and to attempt to change
this and to introduce a state of society
without evil is Utopian, it never
can be effected. They accept the
wretchedness, degradation, poverty,
prostitution, and all the numerous
evils that abound in the nations of
which they are members, as some-
thing tlntt crmnot be removed — as
the necessary consequence of our
existence here on the earth. But
the prophets have predicted that a
time shall come when our race shall
be emancipated from these evils, and
when there shall be nothing to hurt
or destroy in all the holy mountain
of the Lord ; when swords shall be
beaten into ploughshares and spears
into pruning hooks; when nation
shall no longer rise against nation,
and war ihatl be learned no more.
The prophets have predicted that the
time shall come when the knowledge
of God shall eover the earth as the
waters cover the mighty deep; and
w hen man need no longer say to his
neighbor, " Know ye the Lord,*' but
when all shall know him, from the
least unto the greatest. There is no
doubt that, if anything in the Scrip.;
tures is true, these predictions are,
and that they will be verified to the
letter. But man, in his efforts to
bring about this time, lias labored
without the concurrence of heaven,
without the divine blessing resting
upon his labors. He lias run before
he was sent ; in his zeal he has
undertaken measures for which he
had no warrant. What, then, shall
cure or bring the means of cure to
our race? What shall ameliorate
the condition of the human family ?
What itfbt'me shall be a<!opt<>d to
bring to the earth the blessings which
we are told it is our privilege to
enjoy, at some period or other ? Shall
man seek to bring this about without
r
26 JOURNAL OF
divine aid ? Shall he undertake to
effect these great changes and bring
to pass 1 hie great deliverance without
seeking the aid of the Supreme Being,
who created the earth and the in-
habitants thereof? Or shall he in
humility how himself in the dust, and
await the dispensation of truth from
heaven, await the bestowal of the
light and knowledge necessary to
enable him to accomplish these
mighty works; and then, in faith,
plant and water an3 wait upon God
to give the increase ?
I think that the course that we
as a people have taken, is the course
which all should take ; I think it is t he
only proper and legitimate course for
any individual and people to take.
Ken may say that we are deluded and
that we deceive ourselves; they may
say that our system is one of im-
posture. Whether this be so or not
matters but little to the point in
question ; the course that we have
taken, whether our system be divine
or not, is the course which all should
take. What we have done we have
claimed to do under the inspiration
and direct guidance of heaven. Every
move that we have taken since our
Church was organized, on the 6th of
April, 1830, we claim has been by
inspiration and under the guidance of
the Almighty. On the day I have
named out Church was organized by
revelation. On that day the Church
was organized and ministers chosen ;
Elders wete endowed with, or ordained
to, the Priesthood. They were sent
forth by revelation, and commanded
to go to this place and the other
place, to this and to that land by
revelation from the Lord. A message
was given unto them, not from the
Bible, or Book of Murmon ; not from
any written record, not a copy or
transcript of some message carried
by some previous generation of men ;
but an original message, direct to
DISCOURSES,
them, to be conveyed by them to
their fellow creatures; a perfectly
original message, so far as this genera-
tion was concerned, delivered to thera
by the Almighty ; and they were sent
forth to proclaim it to the inhabitants
of the earth.
They were commanded by revela-
tion to gather together. A place
was designated as a plaoe of gather-
ing* Circumstances favored the pro-
curing of that place ; but they were
I not allowed to remain in it. They
were driven forth, and again they
were guided by revelation to another
place, and again .they were driven
forth and compelled to abandon their
homes; and again another place was
designated to which they should go;
again they were driven forth, and
! again they were directed what to do,
and they came to this land, guided by
revelation, inspired by the AlmigMy,
not knowing where they were Jjj^g*
Thousands started out on th^Siains
without having the least idea where
they would stop ; they launched forth
on fhe trackless prairies without any
location ahead of which they knew
anything; and when they reached
here they settled by revelation ; and
since then, in our movements, in our
settlements of various localities, in
all our labors at home, going to the
nations of the earth or returning
therefrom j in our migrations, in
sending out colonies* and in every
variety of labor which we have per-
, formed we claim to have been guided
; by the spirit of revelation ; and markr
my brethren and sisters, the wonder-
j ful results,
i Have we had wealth ? Have we
had societies organized to aid us ?
Have we had popularity with or
popular support from the nation?
No, we have had nothing of the kind*
We have stood alone, with none to
aid, sustain, or comfort but God.
Instead of aid from our fellow-
STIRRING TIMES, ETC.
27
creatures we have had persecution ;
inhtenci of comfort we have had 1
reviling; instead of words of en-
coiitagement, we have, as it were,
had deep damnation poured out upon
our heads. We have had adverse
circumstances to contend with, but
we have also had that which is better
than all the world can bestow — the
aid of heaven, divine concurrent^
we have had a combination of circum* I
stances to aid us in accomplishing the
objects tor which we started out. The
result is, we are in these valleys
to-dny — a people of varied nationality,
of varied creeds and modes of educa- ;
tiun, and a people as utterly diverse '
in theii* original traditionsand habits
as men and women of our color
could be. And yet, what do we see ?
Why, throughout all this range of
valleys a people homogeneous, dwell-
ing together in peace, love and union,
and enjoying all the blessings pro-
mised to the people of God in the
last days. I say all the blessings,
but not in their fullness. We are but
imperfect yet ; we are not piepared for
these blessings in their tidiness; but
so fur ns we are progressed and are
prepared, they have been bestowed
upon m ; and to-day we present to the
eyes of the world one of the most re-
markable spectacles that can be seen.
Men may say, " Pooh, pooh, you
Latter-day Saints are nothing ! you
are toi > contemptible for notice r But
our acts show that there is a power
and an influence with us that the
inhabitants of the earth elsewhere do
not possess. We are looked upon as
a social phenomenon in the earth j
we are diverse from every other |
people ; and our community is the '
object of attention and I may *ay of
respect that its numbers do not
en tide it to* Men from afar cannot
cross the continent without coming
to visit the Latter-day Saints. Why
is this ? It is because there is a feel-
ing through on t the earth that there i&
something remarkable connected with
us, that we are not as other people
are. What is it that distinguishes
us from our fellows ? What is it that
distinguishes us from the average
American, English man, Scandinavian,
German, Swiss, Italian, or Frenchman,
i or from the average Asiatic ? There
is something; they feel it and we
feel it; and that distinction ip, we
■believe in revelation, we profess to be
guided by revelation. We are peculiar
when compared with the rest of the
world, because all our movements
are under divine guidance. We
claim this, and we act upon it; we
seek for it, and God bestows it npon
us. It is our testimony, at least,
that he bestows it upon us, for we see
the results. We see what is not wit-
i nessed anywhere else on the earth.
As I have already said, tract,
Bible and missionary societies have
been formed, and the wealth of the
nations had been poured into the
bands of religious people, and spent
lavishly and without stint, for the
salvation ot the human family ; but
where on the face of the earth can
you find the fruits to be witnessed
before me to-day, and that can be
seen throughout the Territory of
Utah. Why is this ? Because, as I
have said, they have labored without
the concurrence of heaven ; they have
run before they were sent. But unto
us, scattered, isolated individuals,
this message from God came, and
there being a spark of divinity within
us, we received it and embraced it,
and have endeavoured to live up to
it, and God has blessed us nnd oar
! labors. But after all, what we have
done is very little.
I have told you what has been
remarked here, time and time again,
probably you have heard it, respecting
our insignificance. I feel most sen-
sibly that, so far as numbers aro
JOURNAL OF
DISCOURSES,
• concerned, we are a very insignificant
people. But I will tell you a remark,
which I believe is credited alike to
the late Mr. Stephen Girard and to
Commodore Vanderbilt, both great
financiers, that the hardest money
they ever earned was the first five
hundred dollars they saved. Now
the hardest thing in building up a
people is to gain a foothold. We
have gained this ; we have gained
and organized the first hundred
thousand people. We have achieved
a position that will render our future
progress more rapid than in years
past and gone. I fully expect to see
the progress of this work in the future
much more rapid than it has been in
the past. I see the providence of
God laboring to bring this about.
Not to build Dp a people distinct
from all the rest of the earth ; not to
build up some little, narrow sect or
• ^denomination; but this work and
Gospel is to embrace within its fold
all Earth's children, every son and
daughter of God on the earth. That
is it8 mission, and it will accomplish
it. But it will spread with increased
rapidity from this time forth. The
foundation and corner-stones have
been laid in tears, blood, and in much
sorrow, but they are laid firmly,
cemented by the sufferings, toils,
faith and endurance of this people
for the past forty years ; and I trust
that they are laid so deep that they ;
will never be torn up, shaken or
disturbed ; and that upon them will
a superstructure be reared of such
strength, beauty and symmetry that
at will be the joy and pride of the
whole earth.
The labors of the Elders of this
Church have not been confined to
this land, but they have extended to
England, Scandinavia, some little in
France, a very little in Prussia, some
in Switzerland ; but vast fields yet
lie before us that we have not touched,
and to which this message must go.
The throes of revolution which
Europe is now undergoing I look
upon as the premonitory signs of that
freedom that shall soon dawn on that
continent. Then the Elders of this
Church will go through Germany,
France, Italy and Spain, and through
every land in Europe; for tho 41 sick
man " will yet open his doors to I) ear
the Elders of Israel, and Russia will
unfold her gates and give them free
entrance, and they will go forth
declaring the glad tidings which God
has given unto us to the oppressed of
all nations, proclaiming unto them
that God has established a govern-
ment which will be the means of
restoring to the earth the blessings
for which mankind have sighed,
panted and labored for ages in vain.
When the mind, inspired by the
Spirit of God, contemplates the future,
and sees the immense field which is
widening before the Elders of this
Church, I, for one, feel that it ought
to stir up every one of us to the
most energetic and resolute prepara-
tion for the great labor that is fast
devolving upon us, and that we live
to discharge. Our own land will yet
be convulsed with revolution, for it
contains within itself the seeds of
dire misfortunes, which will yet come
upon the unhappy Republic. We
may deplore, mourn over and regret
that such things do exist; hut they
do nevertheless, and we should lye
blind indeed did we shut our eyes to
the fact, and fail to prepare ourselves
for their accomplishment. There is
before this people, connected with our
own country, a destiny that is so
glorious when we contemplate it in
the future, that it is enough to dazzle
and oppress the mind of man at the
immensity of the - labor that lies
before ns.
It may be said that this is all very
foolish to think of or to talk about ;
STIRRING TIMES, ETC*
bnt it is no more foolish than it would
have heen, when driven, peeled and
nattered, we were coming oat of
Illinois, to have said we should yet
lay the foundation of a great State,
such as we now behold in these
mountains, I tell you, ray brethren
and sisters, that God has given to
this people qualities which, in the
contest of races, must telL There
are qualities connected with the
Latter-day Saints, a id principles con-
nected rtith their system that, perse-
cute and crush them out as you may,
as long as the men live who bear the
authority, and so long as the principles
have a believer and practicer in the
world, must live, survive, and have
influence in the midst of the earth
and upon the populations thereof.
There is no disguising this fact!
Little plot ten*, such, for instance, as
the 41 ring'* in this city, may fix
snares and nets, and arrange toils,
and think they are going to stop the
work of God, ensnare the feet of the
servants of God, and do wonderful
things ! Puny drivellers! they would
raise their impious hands and tear
down the throne of Jehovah, and
attempt to impede the progress of his
work; but, like others who have
pirceded them, they will be covered
with shame and confusion and go
down to dishonored graves, while the
people whom they seek to oppress
will continue to rise and increase in
strength and power by the practice of
those qualities which God has given
unto m through revelation, until their
influence will be felt, not only in
Utah Territory, but from sea to sea,
and ifive hem time enough, and it
will l>e ft* It throughout the length and
breadth of the earth, and t hus will the
sayings of the prophets be fulfilled*
How else could they be fulfilled ?
Can you imagine any better plan than
this that you begin to see unfold
befure us? Can yon think of any
29
other way by which these predictions
will be fulfilled ? I can not. It is
simple, natural and scriptural, and
perfectly Godlike in my sight,
and according to my limited ideas*
But as a people, we should endeavor,
in the midst of all our troubles,
difficulties, trials and temptations, to
remember that we are Gtid's people;
that he has culled us to be his, and
we should put our firm faith and
trust in him and leave him to work
out the results. And, my brethren
and sisters, if we are faithful to the
truth which he has revealed to us, he
will bring to us greater salvation than
we ever conceived of, and will work
out ways of deliverance of which we
have never dreamed ; for his word,
which cannot be recalled, has gone
forth tt i rough his ancient servants ;
and he is pledged to his servauts in
the days in which we live ; and he is
pledged to us, to sustain this work
and to give it power and influence,,
and a foothold in the earth* And
there never was a people who prayed
with greater unanimity for any one
thing, than du the Latter-day Saints
that God will deliver his people from
the hands of their enemies and give
them the victory. These prayers
will be heard and answered upon oar
beads, and, as I have said, we will
see deliverance and salvation such as
we never dreamed of.
I rec Jlect very well, the feelings
that were manifested here, I think it
was last su turner but one, by a
scientific gentleman, who ca ne into
our city, and for, the first time wag
brought into contact with us. He
had known ua when he was a boy in
Illinois; now himself a professor in
one of the Illinois colleges, aud a man
of some note in the scientific world.
He had seen or heard something of
our persecutions, aud while in con-
versation with me he remarked, " Mr*
Cannon, when 1 looked upon this
30
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES,
beautiful valley and saw theie pleasant
homes, and your people dwelling in
contentment and peace, ray heart was
filled with inexpressible sadness; I
could not repress my emotions, my
eyes suffused with tears, and I wished
from the bottom of my heart that you
were somewhere else rather than
within the confines of the United
States, somewhere where you would
not be subject to persecution ; for I
know the intense bigotry and hatred
of feeling that are entertained tow?irds
you, and £ know that it only awaits
a fitting opportunity to re-enact the
scenes that you have endured in the
past." I appreciated the kindness of
feeling which prompted the remarks,
but told him that I viewed things
differently from him. I was fully
aware of the feeling of which be
spoke, and knew that it existed in
certain quarters ; but I was also
aware of one thing, which he (being
an infidel) probably did not under-
stand, and that was — there was a God
in heaven who ruled, over-ruled and
controlled all circumstances for the
accomplishment of his own designs.
I farther remarked, " Suppose we
were away from here, outside the
confines of the United States, do you
think we could .live in any spot on the
earth without attracting attention ?
Do you think that a people such as
we are could go to any land, or into
the greatest desert on the earth, and
live there any length of time without
attracting the attention of the world
as much »s we do now ? Why, the
thing is impossible. When we came
to this region it was as much out of
the way as any place on the earth
could be. But after coming here we
demonstrated that the mil of these
valleys, by being watered artificially,
would produce crops; and the result
of our experiment, for experiment it
may be culled, is that all this interior
basin, formerly looked upon as an
irreclaimable desert, is a choice land.
The world once convinced of this, and
population came to us, and the rail-
r« »ad came across the continent, and we
fiud ourselves tight in the centre of
the great transcontinental highway.
If we were to go into any other land
it would be the same — we should
attract population and wealth, and the
eyes of mankind would be directed
towards us; and were we to leave
here we could not find a place, -where
we should be more secluded than we
have been here; but," said E, "we
don't calculate to leave here; wo
think we have got to the right spot,
and we calculate to remain, and the
Lord will deal with those who seek
to deal with us." He felt that there
might be some destiny about it, hut,
being an unbeliever in God, he did
not know anything about it, and did
not allow himself to have any faith
concerning it. Still he saw that we
were a remarkable people, and said
there might be a great future in store
for us, some destiny, of which he and
others, who merely looked on, might
be very ignorant.
It is a truth, my brethren and
sisters, there is a great destiny in store
tor the Latter-day Saints. Men may
fight this work and persecute the
people who sustain it; they killed
Joseph, and thought they had de-
stroyed the corner stones, as it were,
of the fabric; and like the men men-
tioned in the parable, having killed
the heir, they thought they could
possess the vineyard, but they soon
found out their mistake; and so it
will i>e with every move that is made
against the work of God — those with
whom they originate will find they
have made a great mistake* T! ley will
be disappointed in the results of their
labors and operations, for God has
spoken and his word will be fulfil led
and this work will increase and pro-
gress. .And the day will come,
THE WORK OF GOD, ETC.
31
though, as I have said, we may
regret and deplore it, yet the day will
come, and I would like the thought
to be fastened, if possible, so deeply
in every heart that when persecution
and annoyance come upon us, you
will not forget it — when the Latter-
day S nints will be the only well-
governed people on this continent,
and in their midst will be found the
only place where constitutional go-
vernment will be preserved in its old
purity and integrity* I know that
this sounds strange, because the idea
is that the " Mormons" are the most
despotically governed people on the
| face of the land. Bat I know that
there is not another people to-day
under the light of the sun, from the
Atlantic to the Pacific, or from the
Gulf of Mexico to the Canadas, who
are so free in every sense of the word,
men and women, as the Lntter-day
Saints, and who have greater liberty
to do that which is right in their own
eyes,
I see the clock, and I am reminded
that it is time to quit. May God
bless you, my brethren and sisters,
and let his peace and preserving care
be over you, in the name of Jesus,
Amen*
DISCOURSE BY ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF,
Delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City\ Mat 6, 1870.
(Reported by David W* Evans.)
THE WORK OF GOD — AUTHORITY OF PRESIDENT YOUNC — KEEPING THE
COMMANDMENTS OF GOD.
I believe this is the largest assembly
of Saints or sinners, Jew or Gentile,
that ever I saw together under one
roof. There are very few of us
capable of making such an assembly
hear, unless it is very still ; and
when persons have come from twenty
to two hundred and fifty miles to
attend Conference, it certainly is im-
portant that we give them a chance
to hear what is said.
It is true that God has set his hand
in these hitter days to bring to pass
his act, his strange act, and to accom-
plish his work, his strange work —
that truth should spring out of the
earth, and righteousness look down
from heaven j and it certainly would
be strange if these things were not
performed. The Supreme Ruler
would not be like a God who had
created a world like this and peopled
it it he let it go at random, without
any purpose or plan for the benefit
and salvation of the children bf men.
I want to say a few words on this
subject. I consider that the work
we now see taking place in these
mountains, and which has been going
on from the time this Church was
organized, is but carrying out the
great plan of our Father in heaven —
that plan which was ordained from
before the foundation of the world.
In fact there is no dispensation that
has been looked upon with as muoh
32 JOURNAL OP
interest by all the prophets of God
unci inspired men, from the day of
Joseph Smith, as that in which we
live, in which the Zion of God is
being built up, and the eart h is being
prepared for the coming of the Son
of Man*
Isaiah, in looking by prophetic
vision to this day, makes use of very
strong language in endeavoring to
express his feelings in relation to it.
In one instance he says, "Sing, O
heavens, and rejoice, O earth ! Break
forth into singing, 0 ye mountains,
for the Lord has comforted his people,
and will have mercy on his afflicted
yet." Zion says, " The Lord has
forsaken me, my God bus forgotten
me." ** Can a woman forget her
looking . child, that she should not
hrtve compassion on the son *of her
wombi" " Yea," the Loid says, "a
woman may do that," but he will
not forget Zion. .Says he, "Zion
is engraven on the palms of my
hands, [jer walls are continually be fore
me."
Now this Zion of God has been
befirte bin face from before the foun-
dation of I tie world, and it is no more
going to fail in the la iter days than
any of the poroses of God are going
to fail, hence I look upon this work
as rite work of God, and it makes no
difference to the Lord Almighty, iior
to his Snails, what the world may
think or do about it, or what course
they may pursue with regard to it;
they 'cannot atop ir s progress, because
it is the work of God. If it were
the work of man it would not exist
as it does to-day. If God had no
baud in this work, we should not.
have seen this assembly here to-day
in this Tabernacle, nor this Territory
filled with cities and towns. But
being the work of God, he asks no
odds of any nation, kindred, tongue
or people under the whole heavens,
any further than they are willing to j
DISCOURSES,
keep his commandments and do his
will; for as the Lord God Almighty
lives, so true will the work, the
foundation of which has been laid in
these latter days, increase and con-
tinue until its consummation is
effected, and the great Zion of God
is established in beauty, power and
^lory, and the dominion of the king-
dom of our God extends over the
whole earth.
Joseph Smith laid the foundation
of this work; he was chosen by the
Lord for that purpose, and was
ordained by prophets and inspired
men who formerly held the keys of
the kingdom of God upon the earth.
They laid their hands upon his head
and ordained him to the Priesthood,
and gave him power to unlock the
heavens and to administer the ordi-
nances of the house of God upon the
earth. Tins work he performed in
the lace of difficulty, persecution,
opposition and oppression; but the
hand of God sustained him. He
knew what few men or peopl on the
whole face of the earth know — that
God livQh, and he also knew thtit the
work whose foundations he laid was
the work of God, ^
This is what has sustained Presi-
dent Young through all his labors.
Many men have looked upon him,
and, in consequence of outside pres-
sure, have expected him to say this,
that, and the other; but all the time
he has taken a straightforward course,
walking in the path pointed out by
the God of heaven; and that same
baud has sustained him and you and
me anil evi ry pood and virtuous mnn
and woman on the face of the earth
who has listened to the command-
ments of God.
Isaiah and other prophets saw in
vision much concerning the building
up and establishment of the latter-
day Zion of God upon the earth*
They saw the people gathering from
THE WORK OF GOD, ETC.
33
the nations of the earth to the 1
mountains of Israel; they speak of
a great company coming up to Zion,
the women with child and her that
travailed with child together; and a*
great many other things in relation
to the internal workings of the in-
habitants of Zkra in building up the :
kingdom of God they do not mention,
whether they ever saw them or not
Isaiah has not written concerning
many of these things, neither has
anybody yet that we know of. Per*
haps when the remainder of the plates, j
which were delivered to the Prophet
Joseph, and which he was commanded
not to translate, come forth, we may
learn many more things pertaining
to our labor on the earth which we do
not know now. But. be this as it
may, all this internal work is left for
the Holy Ghost to reveal to the living
oracles, as they ^uide, Lad, dictate
and direct the people day by day.
This is one tiling I want to say to ,
my friends and to^the Saints of God,
that without the Holy Ghost, without j
direct revelation and the inspiration
of God continually, Brigham Young
could not lead this people twenty-
four hours. He could not lead them
at all* Joseph could not have done
it, neither could any nHn. This
power is in the bosom of Almighty
God, and he imparts it to his servants j
the prophets as they stand in need of
it day by day to build up Zion.
I want to say to my brethren and
sisters that President Young is our
leader; he is our lawgiver in the
Church axid kingdom of God. He
IB called to this office ; it is his pre-
rogative to tell this people what to
do, and it is our duty to obey the
counsel that he has given to-day to
the sisters and the brethren. We,
as a people, should not treat lightly
this counsel, for I will tell yon in the
name of the Lord — and I have watched
it from the time I became a member
No. k
of this Church — there is no man who
undertakes to run counter to the counsel
of the legally authorized letider of this
people that ever prospers, and no such
man ever will prosper. Many things
I might name, if it were wisdom to
do so, to prove the truth of this
statement, but you may watch for
yourselves, and you will find that all
persons who take a stand against this
I counsel will never prosper,
A great deal has been said witli
regard to guiding this people in tem-
poral matters. I ask you in the
name of the Lord, who is called to
guide the temporal affairs of this
Church and kingdom, for its advan-
tage, redemption and exaltation, as
pure as a bride adorned for her bus-
band, if it be not that man who is
placed as the lawgiver and leader of
Israel ? There is no man on the foot-
stool of God who has this authority
but him who stands at the head ; and
his Counsellors and the Apostles*
Bishops and Elders ought to be co-
workers with him, and they should
work together in carrying out his
j counsel. And when counsel corned
we should not treat it lightly, no
matter to what subject it pertains,
for if we do it will work evil unto uk
Co-operation, it is well known to
every Saint who has his eyes and
ears open, has brought much good to
Israel, yet from the very commence-
ment of it there has been more or
less discontent and dissatisfaction
felt and manifested towards it ; but
I there is not an individual who has
attempted to work against it but who
has lost the Spirit of God unless he
□as repented. It is so in all things,
as every one of us who has had ex-
perience in this kingdom has seen
over and over again. No man has
ever prospered by this course, but if
he has continued it he, by and bjr
has gone downward instead of upward;
j no such man ever received and gained
Vol XIV.
34 ■ JOURNAL or
to himself honor by- taking such a
course, and do man ever WuL They
may try it as often as they wish ; no
matter whether they are insiders or
outsiders, every man who undertakes
io fight against this work and people
will, in God's own time, receive
chastisement at his hand. Alany
who have done so, have been cut off,
and others will follow. This is true,
whether it is in regard to following
counsel or not We cannot treat
lightly the counsel of God without
incurring his displeasure^
Does any man or woman wonder
that President Young leads out, and
calls upon us to follow, in directing
temporal affairs ? What would be-
come of us and Zion if there were no
one to give counsel in temporal
matters ? We could not advance if
such were the case; but we have
"been guided so far by the servants of
God and the Spirit of God, We
have been dull scholars perhaps in a
great many things, but I thank God
that it is as well as it is with us
to-day. The organization of tjiis
Church took place forty years ago
with six members, and here is a con-
gregation that would make two
thousand branches of the Church as
large as the first branch that was
established, and this is only one con-
gregation, while we have 600 miles
of towns, villages and settlements in
this Territory- It is progress all the
time. Why? Because it is the
work of God. No one can stand in
the way of the, work of God in safety.
The Lord is not dependant upon any
man on his footstool; if one man will
not do his bidding, another will. He
gives his law to all men, and inasmuch
as they reject it they are under con-
demnation.
I fear not the world. We are the
only people under heaven who are
one, and we are not half as much one
aa we ought to be ; we have to im-
DISCOURSE&
prove* We are the only people in
the whole Christian w^rld who make
any pretensions to oneness in building
up the Zion of God on the earth*
We profess to be one in the Gospel,
and we have to become so in temporal
matters* We have to become of one
heart and mind in giving attention
and obedience to the counsel of God
in all things, both spiritual and tem-
poral. Zion has got to advance ; she
has got to rise and shine and put on
her beautiful garments. She is ad-
vancing and has beeu from the time
of the organization of this Church,
and she will continue to do so until
the winding up scene.
When I look at the blessing of the
Gospel of Christ, and at the blessings
which we as a people enjoy ; when I
look at the glorious principles which
God has revealed for the exaltation
and glory of man, I rejoice in them,
and ask who will obey them ? I feel
that we ought to be thankful to God
day and night ; we should be humble
and always ready to listen to counsel.
Let us go to and carry out these
principles. " If ye love me, keep my
commandments," says the Lord Jesus.
President Young preached on that
subject a few Sabbaths ago, showing
that however great our professions as
Saints may be, they are vain unless
we keep the commandments and
counsels of the Lord given unto us.
What are they ? We have the moral
law and we have the Gospel in the
Scriptures ; but there are command-
ments and ordinances, and there is
counsel which we have to observe
which are not contained in the Bible,
in the Book of Mormon, or in the
Book of Doctrine and Covenants.
In fact there is very little there in
regard to our work and labors here
o m
as a people.
The Lord has put into our hands
the power to build up this great Zion,
which all the ancient prophets re-
THE WOKK OF GOD^ ETC,
35
joiced in and prophecied about What
manner of people ought we to be
who are called to carry oat this work ?
We ought to be the Saints and
children of God in very deed* Our
hearts ought to be open and prepared
to receive instruction, light and truth,
and to carry out all principles which
may be communicated unto us by the
servants of the Lord. The counsels
we have had to-day are of great value
to the Latter-day Saints. By and
by Babylon will fall ; in a little while
" no man will buy her merchandise,"
and the sooner we are prepared for
the changes which are about to take
place in our nation and in the nations
of the earth the better for us. We
are all interested in the welfare of
Zion. Our wives, daughters and sons
are interested in the welfare of the
husbands and fathers, and the children
in that of the parents; and we all
should be interested in each other's
temporal and spiritual labors, *and
there should not be a selfish feeling
on the part of any portion of a family
— " I do not rare what becomes of
this, that or the other, if 1 can only
get what I want myself." This is
selfishness, it produces disunion and
is inconsistent with the profession of
a Saint of God. We should labor,
each and every one of us to put such
feelings from our hearts, and then
we, in our family organizations, should
strive to promote the general interest
of the members thereof; but the
interest of Zion and the kingdom of
God should be first with us all the
time, for we arc all members of that
kingdom and its welfare is our?.
I consider that we are in a position
in which we have every chance to do
a great deal of good in our day and
generation, we have every chance to
work with the Lord, every chance to
fulfil our mission and calling here on
the earth. We have every chance to
build up the Zion of God. I rejoice
in the faith that has been manifested
by those who have charge of the
affairs of the kingdom of God, in the
revelations of God. By their works
they have manifested their determina-
tion continually to carry out the
commands of God. " Who am I,"
saith the Lord, " that I command and
am not obeyed ?" c< Who am I,"
t>aith the Lord, " that I promise and
do not fulfil p" The Lord has never
made a promise to the children of
men but what he has fulfilled it 5 and
all the promises that the Lord has
made and all the revelations that
have been given by the inspiration of
the Holy Ghost, will have their ful-
filment, and we have nothing to fear.
As President Young said a few Sab-
baths ago, the only thing we need
fear is that we shall not keep the
commandments of the Lord* Let us
keep the commandments of God and
then we shall have power with him ;
the word of the Lord will sustain us
and he will fight our battles. " Ven-
geance is mine, I will repay," saith
the Lord. We need have no fears
with regard to the future. The Zion
of God is before his face continually.
He has laid a foundation and he will
build upon it, and his Saints will
build upon it; and thousands and
tens of thousands of the meek of the
earth will yet take hold and become
co-workers in the great work of God,
I feel, myself, as though we should
lay these counsels that we receive to
heart; we should not treat them
lightly. We have been called upon
by the Lord and his servants to keep
the Word of Wisdom ; it is time we
did it Wherein we have failed in
these things in the past we should
try to improve*
I rejoice in this work, I rejoice in
the Gospel of Christ I rejoice that
we live in a day when we have in-
spiration, when we have prophets,
Apostles and inspired men to lead us,
36 JOURNAL OF
and when we are made partakers of
the blessings of the kingdom of God
upon the earth. It is safe for us to
pursue that course wherein we can
walk iii the light, and we need not
find fault with the principles of the
Gospel because any brother does that
which we cannot endorse* It is for
us, each of us, individually, to see to
our own conduct, and never follow
the errors of others. It is not diflicnlt
to find them in our own conduct. We
should all bring this home to our-
selves-
I do hope that the sisters, generally,
and the Female Relief Societies in
particular, will listen to the counsel
that has been given to-day, and that
they will go to and establish braiding
schools in all their societies, where
the young ladies may be taught to
braid straw* President Young has
called upon them to do it from time
to time. It is true that he has not
always commanded them, in the name
of the Lord, to. do thus and so, and
this has been a great blessing to
Israel, We have been governed by
counsel instead of commandment in
many things, which has been a blessing
to the Saints, for " he that is com-
manded'in all things" and obeyeth
it with slothfulness and not a willing
mind, is not qualified before the Lord
as that man is who, having the power
within him, bringeth to pass much
righteousness without being com-
manded in all that he does,
I feel thankful for the blessings
that we enjoy. The Prophet Joseph
was called an idler and a gold digger.
We have been called a great many
things — such as lazy, indolent, and
many other things discreditable. Why,
every man possessing reason and
judgment, who knows anything about
the Territory of Utah, will at once
pronounce such assertions nonsensical,
for this city and every portion of the
Territory bear witness to the untiring
DISCOURSES.
labor and industry of the Latter-day
Saints, and the people, as a general
thing outside, are beginning to give
up the idea that we are an idle people.
They formerly found a great deal of
fault with Joseph Smith, because
they said he was a gold digger; but
since then nearly all the Christian
world have turned gold diggers*
Hundreds of thousands of them have
run into this western country to dig
gold; and, while they formerly found
fault with us for digging gold they
have latterly found fault because we
do not dig it, 1 hope and trust that
all the accusations of wrong brought
against us in the future will be as
groundless as those of the past Let
us show our faith by our works, let
ns show to the Lord our God that we
have faith and confidence in his word
and works.
We have to become united as a
people in all our labors — in our
agriculture, manufactures, and every
branch of our temporal labors. It is
of great importance to the Latter-day
Saints that they should unite together
on the principle of co-operation*.
Where this is not done we still ought
to try individually to manufacture all
we can. I was pleased, a few days
ago, while paying a visit to Jenning's
shoe factory, to see the large number
of home-made boots and shoes, many
of which were made with machinery
which had been imported for the
purpose. This should be done
wherever it is possible; the people
should co-opefata.aud import labor-
saving machinery, so as to be able to
compete with foreign manufacturers
of goods of all lands. President
Young has set an example in intro-
ducing carding machines and in
establishing factories here. He has
done all he could in this direction,
and we should follow in the wake as
far as we can, I know that God will
bless the people by doing this.
CHARACTER AND CONDITION OF THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS, ETC. 37
I do not wish to occupy any more
time* I feel to gay God bless you.
Lay these things to heart Let us .
lay hold and build up Zion. Let us
realize that we are the children of
God, that he is at work with us and
that we are at work with him. It
has been said that the Lord and a
good man are a great majority. He
has got a great many good men on
the earth, and he is gathering them
together to bnlld up ZionT to carry
out his work and to do his will. He
will also control the course of human
events so as to forward his purposes.
He holds the destinies of the nations
in his hands. He holds Zion in his
hands and he will carry oat his work
and do all he has promised. Those
who fight against Zion fight against
God, and he will break every weapon
formed against hig kingdom, and will
bring his people triumphant over
every obstacle, and finally give them
eternal life, which is the greatest of
all the gifts of God. May God grant
that it may be bestowed upon us by
our faith, work,3, and labors, through
his mercy and goodness, for Jesus'
. sake. Amen.
-
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT BRIG HAM YOUNG,
Delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake Cit¥, May 8, 1870.
(Reported by David IF. Evans.)
CHARACTER AND CONDITION OF THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS — INFIDELITY-
THE ATONEMENT — CELESTIAL MARRIAGE.
We have now been together in a
Conference capacity for four dnys.
It seems a very short time ; we would
like to stay a little longer, if it were
prudent. This is the place to give
general instruction to the Latter-day
Saints. It is good when the Saintg
meet together to look at each other,
to hear the brethren bear testimony
of the truth and to feel the fellowship
of the Holy Ghost. This makes our
hearts joyful and glad. It will be
prudent for us now to bring oar Con-
ference to a close, and, after I have
spent a few minutes in speaking, we
shall adjourn until the 6th of next
October, at ten o'clock in the morning,
at this place.
There are many things which we
would like to talk about; I would
like to do a great deal of talking if I
had the opportunity and were able to
do so. There are many little items
pertaining to what are called temporal
matters, which it would be well for
the people to understand in order to
promote their happiness here on the
earth and to aid them in securing
eternal salvation. It is not those
who are hearers of the word only who
are blessed and who secure to them-
selves the blessings of eternal lifej
they who secure eternal life are
doers of the word as well as hearers.
If we bear the word and do not per-
form the labors indicated by it, it will
38 JOURNAL OF
profit us no tiling. To hear the word,
as the Latter-day Saints do, and then i
to perform the labor devolving upon
them, requires a great deal of wisdom;
and to bring the people up to this
standard much labor and instruction
from the Elders is necessary.
If we can remember what we have
heard at this Conference, and cnrry
it out in our lives, it will profit us.
I hope and trust that we may. Let
us apply our hearts to the wisdom
that has been exhibited before the
Conference, and observe the little
duties of every- day life, that we may
be prepared to receive more. It is j
not possible for a person to learn all
the will of God in an hour, a day, or
a week; it requires much tin.e and
attention to do this. The Lord gives
a little here and a little there, a pre-
cept now nnd a precept again, and by
close observance of these things in '
our lives we grow in grace and in a
knowledge of the truth, j
We are thankful for the privilege
of talking a little. We ought all to
be very thankful that we have the
privilege of the Gospel and of tlie
ordinances of the house of God, fur
by applying them to the duties of
life we can increase in knowledge,
wisdom at d understanding. We are
thankful to see the increase that there
is in the midst of the people, I
You very well know that it is said \
by many of those who wish lo traduce
the character of the Latter-day Saints
that we are a poor, miserable, ignorant j
people. If we aie, there is a great
chance tor improvement. We will
acknowledge that we are very ignurant,
and that the JUord has taken the
weak tilings of the world to confound
the wisdom ot the wise. He has
picked up the poor of the eaith and
brought them together, because they
seek after him ; while the hearts of
the rich and the proud, the high and
the noble, are lifted up, and they
DISCOURSES.
cannot hearken to the principles of
the Gospel and receive them and
obey them. They feel themselves too
good; they know 100 much; while
the poor and needy, those who suffer
from hunger nnd nakedness, and from
haid labor and taskmasters, are the
ones who naturally seek after the
Lord, The Lord is just as willing to
bless and to pour out his Spirit upon
the king on the throne as upon the
beggar in the street; but t lie king
has sufficient — he does not feel after
the Lord; but the beggar cries unto
the Lord for his daily bread. Hence
the Lord gathers the poor. When
we are gathered together, if we will
improve ourselves, by and by we will
be filled with wisdom.
When we look at the Latter-day
Saints and remember that they have
been taken from the coal pits, from
the ironworks, from the streets, from
the kitchens and from the barns and
factories and from hard service in the
countries where they formerly lived,
we cannot wunder at their ignorance.
But when they are brought together
they soon become scholars. Many of
them become farmers and merchants,
and they soon learn to procure a
sustenance for themselves and families,
and gather around them the neces-
saries and comforts of life. They
also learn the object of their being*,
of the creation ol the earth, aud how
to organize the elements so as to
subserve their own wants and neces-
sities. This is a blessing, and we are
proud to see the industry of the
Latter-day Saints, and also their
improvements and faithfulness. If
we are imorant, let us become
wise; if we arc poor, let us gather
around ns the comforts of life. I
look around among my brethren and
I see scholars. The world say we are
ignorant ; we acknowledge it, but we
are not as ignorant as they are,
although they have had opportunities-
CHARACTER AND CONDITION OF THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS, ETC. 39
of education perhaps that many of
our brethren have not had. We
study from the great book of nature.
We are driven to this of necessity
Where is there another people who
have done what this people have
done in these mountains, by way of
making improvements in their own
midst — upon the soil and in their
cities and towns. They are not to
be found on the face of the earth. If
this is not intelligence — if this is not
good, hard, sound sense, I w sh some-
body would corne and teach us a little.
If we are taken from the poor,
ignorant, low and degraded, and make
ourselves wise and happy, it is a
credit to us.
There are causes for this which
some may not have' thought about
T often think of them. You take, for
instance, a father, who has, say, lour,
ten or twelve sons. He may have
abundance to dispose of to each and
every one; but he dislikes some par-
ticular one, and perhaps feeds and
clothes eleven, but the twelfth, whom
he hates and despises, he turns out
of doors to provide for himself* This
one son goes forth weeping, and says,
" I am forsaken of my father and his
house; now I have to look after
myself, I have the earth before me;
I have to live ; I do not want to kill
myself, and as I have Hie before me
I certainly must make my own future*
I will go to work and accumulate a
little of something, so that I can
purchase me a piece of land* When
it is purchased I will put improve-
ments upon it I will build me a
house ; I will fence my farm ; I will
set off my orchard and plant out my
garden; and I will gather around me
my horses, my cattle, my wagons and
carriages, and I will get me a family."
Pretty soon here is a boy who knows
how to live as well as his father does.
How is it with the rest of the family ?
They are fed and clothed by their
father ; they know not where it comes
from nor how it is obtained, and they
scarcely know their right hand from
their left with regard to the things
of the world*
This illustrates the history of this
people. We have been under the
necessity of learning every art — to
cultivate the soil and how to provide
for our own wants under the most
adverse circumstances. We have
been compelled to do this or go
without, for none would do it for ue.
We have been forced to study mechan-
ism, all kinds of machinery, how to
build, and how to provide and take
care of ourselves in every respect,
I thank the parent and the boys for
turning us out of doors, Why?
Because it has thrown us on our own
resources, and tauubt us to provide
for ourselves. We have a future
before us, and God will take care of
us. In my meditations 1 say, ** Shall
1 complain of fit! her? No* I will
not complain at all, he has done the
best he could for me, though he knew
it not If he had made my house,
opened my farm, planted my orchard,
seen to my planting and ploughing
as well as the gathering; and then
had brought my food to my chamber
and appointed a servant to feed me,
what should I have known about
getting my living f How could I
have known anything about raising
fruit or anything else? I could not
have known* I might read books
until Doomsday, and unless I apply
the knowledge thus obtained I should
know but little*" Without the appli-
cation of knowledge acquired by
reading, it makes mere machines of
us; we can tell what others have
done, but we know nothing ourselves.
Then speak evil of no man, and
acknowledge that it has been a bless-
ing to us to be cast aside and com-
pelled to take care of ourselves.
When we left our homes in the
40 ' JOURNAL OF
East and started . for the Rocky
Mountains the feeling in regard to us
was, " There is starvation before you
Mormons; but if yon do not die of
starvation the Indians will kill you/*
We knew that thev would do no such
thing; we knew thai, we could live
when we got here, and we also knew
that wc could travel twelve or fourteen
hundred miles with our cows, calves,
colts, lame cattle, our seed grain and
provisions and farming utensils on
wagons, carts and handcarts, without
an ounce of iron on some of them.
It was said that we could raise
nothing when we got here; but I
said, uWe will wait and see; we
know that God has led us out here,
and we will wait and ^ee what he will
do *br us.'1 You can see what he has
done, and thank his name and be
humble. Shall we speak evil of
others? No. Why? Because the
n\sult of their treatment towards us
has made us better and greater than
we could have been otherwise. It
has brought us closer together than
we could possibly have come without
a great deal more revelation than we
have had. Our enemies have pushed
vis together; and it is excellent to be
surrounded by circumstances that
will bring us close together. We
learn then whether we have fellow-
ship one for another. Let us thank
God, and speak evil of none; and
instead of finding fault with father,
let us thank him for turning us out
of doors, for we have learned a great
many useful lessons in life that we
could not have learned without. We
can read just as much as the in-
habitants of the earth, and after
reading we can practice a thousand
times more than many of them.
I wish now to say a few words in
relation to a subject which is attract-
ing the attention of thousands of
people in the world. I re!er to what
is termed infidelity. We are very
DISCOURSES.
well aware that a statement made in
reference to this matter in this Con-
ference is true — namely, that the
inhabitants of the earth are drifting,
as fast as time can roll, to infidelity,
I do not profess to know a great deal ;
but some things I do know. Shall I
i take the liberty of telling you the
story of the boy who went to the
mill ? He was looking at the miller's
hogs, which were very fat, clean and
fine. The miller came out, and,
seeing the boy attentively observing
the pigs, said to him, *' What are you
thinking about?" Said the boy, " I
was thinking that millers have fat
hogs/' " Were you thinking of any-
; thing else ?" said the miller, " Yes,"
f What was it ?" " I do not know
whose grain they are fed on," said
the boy. I take the liberty of telling
this story for illustration. Some
, things I do l^now and some I do not
know ; if I do not know whose grain
the pigs eat, I do know that there are
some fat hogs.
What shall I say with regard to
infidelity ? I do not know a great
deal, but I say that a man has not
good common sense who denies his
I Maker; such a man is not endowed
with reasoning powers. I hold this
book in my hand, and I say that for
its production from the crude element
it required a type founder, paper
maker, primer and a book binder,
and by their united exertions the
book was made. But the infidel bases
his argument on the principle that
the book is here without a producer
— that no type founder, paper maker,
printer, nor bookbinder was necessary.
Is not a man who argues on this
principle a fool? If he is not he
comes pretty near it.
There are a great many who say
that there is no embodiment of the
Deity, Our Christian brethren almost
deny the existence of a God ; but it
is in word only ; they do not feel it
if
CHARACTER AND CONDITION OF
in their hearts, they do not mean any i
such thing. They are like the people
of whom Paul speaks, who had
temples reared to the unknown God.
The Christians do not know anything
about God, neither does the infidel.
The Christian world say, *fi We be- I
lieve in a God who has no body." i
You do not believe in anything of
the sort, Christian world ! You think
you believe it, but it is only tradition
with you. Your fathers told you !
that God has no body ; the priests
told them; the schoolmasters have
joined in the endorsement of the same
ridiculous idea; it is also written in
your church creeds; but, when you,
let condition sense have place in yuur
hearts, you do not believe in any such
nonentity or nondescript as a God ,
without body, parts or passions.
But foolish and absurd as is such
' an idea, it is not so ridiculous as that
of the infidel. The Christian world,
while virtually declaring that God is
nothing, also declare that the world
was created by hiih; but the iufidel ;
says the world hnd no creator, it is :
the result of chance. Now I defy
any infidel, or any other person on 1
the face of the earth, to prove that'
anything can be made or exist without
a maker. The world and all its
various grades of organized denizens,
from the lowest forms of vegetable or
animal life, up to man, the lord of
creation, were framed and made, or
they would not have been here.
I just want to say with regard to
infidelity, it means nothing more nor
less than to disbelieve anything we
have a mind to. If we disbelieve in
the existence of the Elernal, as an
embodiment or personage, we aie
infidel on that point If we disbelieve ,
in the efficacy of the blood of the
Savior and his atonement, we are
infidels on that subject I wish to
say, however, to the Christian world, j
that the moment the atonement of
THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS, ETC. 41
. the Savior is done away, that moment,
at one sweep, the hopes of salvation
entertained by the Christian world
. are destroyed, the foundation of their
faith is taken away, and there is
nothing left for them to stand upon.
When this is gone all the revelations
God ever gave to the Jewish nation, to
the Gentiles and to us arc rendered
valueless, and all hope is taken from
us at one sweep.
What proof have you, Infidels, that
Jesus is not the Christ ? What
proof have you of the negative of the
existence of God the Father, or of
Jesus as the Mediator, or of the Holy
Ghost as God's minister, or of the
gifts and graces that God has be-
stowed upon his people ? None at
n all, not the least thing in the world.
Is there anybody living on the earth
that has the proof of the affirmative ?
Yes ; we have. We have proof that
God lives and that he has a body ;
that he has eyes, and ears to hear ;
! that he has arms, hands and feet;
that he can walk and does walk. He
has declared himself to be a man of
war — Jehovah, the great I Am, the
Lord Almighty, and many other titles
of a like import are used in reference
to him in the Scriptures, But take
away the atonement of the Son of
God and the Scriptures fall useless to
the ground.
How is it, Infidel, have you any
proof that Jesus did not die for the
sins of the world? No; not the
least, any more than you have proof
that there was no need to go to the
mountains to cut the timber used in
building this house, or to quarry the
rock of which the pillars of this
house are composed. How is it, Mr.
Infidel, have you any proof of the
non-existence of Him who rules and
reigns in heaven, and who controls
the destinies of the earth ? No ; not
the least. But you say, *' I do not
believe it" That is your affair
only, nobody cares abont that. |
Infidelity extends to other subjects
besides the existence of God and the
atonement of the Savior. Some are
infidel on one point and some on
another. I want to say that so far
as a God without a body, parts and
passions is concerned, I am a complete
infidel. The God whom I serve has
got eyes, ears, nose and mouth. He
has hands to handle; his footsteps
are seen in the midst of his people,
and his goings Forth among the
nations; and he who has the Spirit
of the Almighty can see the provi-
dences of God and behold his ways.
I ask the infidel if he has any proof
that I do not enjoy that Spirit ? I
have proof that I do. What is that
proof. The peace, light and intelli-
gence that I enjoy, wlaich I have
not obtained from the infidel, from
reading books, from going to school,
nor from studying the wisdom of any
man that ever lived on the face of
the earth. " Where did you obtain
it ?" says the infidel. From heaven,
from the fountain of light and in-
telligence. m Where is your wisdom P"
again says the infidel. Here, right
before me, teaching the people how
to be saved, how to live, and to live
with each other; how to improve
their minds ; how to govern and
control themselves. It was so with
Joseph Smith, in his day. So it is
to-day ; how else could it be done ?
Who can gather the people from the
nations in their poverty and ignorance
and fill them with light and intelli-
gence, teach them how to live, what
the earth is and what it is for, make
thern understand that God is our
father, Jesus the Mediator, and that
we belong to the highest intelligence
that there is in existence, and that
we are the natural offspring of God
the Father ? God only can do this.
Yet the infidel will say there is no
God, that we are creatures of to-day,
that we had no existence before this,
and that when this is over there is
nothing after. And following down
the chain of his reasoning, he will &ny
there was a time when there was no
earth, no stars, no worlds, no anything.
Well, I know there never was such a
time. That is faith against faith,
declaration against declaration. What
a pitiful condition it would be for all
space to contain nothing ! To sup-
pose that element, worlds, men, the
grass of the fields, or the trees of the
forest were created, is all folly ! They
are from eternity. It. is equally vain
to imagine space empty ! There is
no space without a kingdom, neither
is there any kingdom without space,
at id they are from everlasting to
everlasting. " How do you know it ?"
asks the unbeliever. By the revela^-
tions of God, by the revelations of
the Lord Jesus Christ. " How do
you know how to teach the people to
control themselves and make them of
one heart and one mind ?" By the
revelations of the Lord, Well, then,
I guess we will sing and pray and
serve our God and keep hts command-
ments; and I rather th nk that Zion
will prosper. That is my opinion.
While the chapter ironi the
prophecies of Daniel was being read,
-showing the plans and schemes of
those who sought to entrap Daniel,
and their miserable end, I was think-
ing how wise (!) men were in those
days. How wise were those great
captains, counselors and presidents!
Could they notfbiesee that they could
not overthrow Daniel? No, they
could see no further than to believe
that if the King would sign the
decree that no petition should be
presented to any potentate, on, above,
or around about the earth, but to
himself, for the space of thirty days,
they would entrap and destroy
Daniel. What wTas the result ? Just
as quick as they commenced their
CHARACTER AND CONDITION OF THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS, ETC- 43
special legislation against Daniel the
Lord commenced special legislation
for him and against those who got
him into the lion's den. The final
result was that Daniel lodged with
the lions over night and came out
unscathed, not injured in the least;
the lions lay there peaceable when
the stone was rolled away, and those
who had caused hi in to be thrust
there were condemned to take the
place he left, and the lions devoured
them. They could not foresee what
Daniel could; he could have foretold
their destiny, and that the legislation
of the Lord Almighty would be a
little above the special legislation of
which they were the authors against
him.
Brethren and sisters, will you keep
the '"Word of Wisdom, say your
prayers, observe the Sabbath, speak
evil of no man, and strive to be
humble and faithful in all things?
It you will, we shall be one by and
by ; we are not yet. We must over-
come the love of the world. He that
hath the love of the world hath not
the love of the Father. He that
loves the things of the world loves
not the kingdom of heaven on the
earth. Whosoever serves mammon
cannot serve God. We must let
these things go out of our affections,
then lay hold of the principles of
eternal life and sustain the kingdom
of God on the earth, or else we shall
go by the board, if we jump over,
we shall certainly sink, and if we stay
aboard Z ion's ship, we can do no
more than sink, and it will be just as
well if Zion s ship sink to be aboard
a* to jump overboard and sink. We
had better stay aboard, she may go
into haibor; and I can promise you
in the name of Israel's God that she
will go there safe and carry every
one of her passengers. Will we be
humble and faithful? i trust we
will I hope — I pray you, brethren
and sisters, let us be humble, be
faithful to our God, onr religion, and
each other.
I will say a few words on a subject
which has been mentioned here —
that is, celestiid marriage, God has
given a revelntion to seal for time
and for eternity, just as he did in
days of old. In qur own days he
has commanded his people to receive
the New and Everlasting Covenant,
and he has said, "If ye abide not
that covenant, then are ye damned/*
We have received it. What is the
result of it ? I look at the world, or
that small portion of it which believes
in monogamy. It is only a small
portion of the human family who do
believe in it, for from nine to ten of
the twelve hundred millions that live
on the earth believe in and practice
polygamy. Well, what is the result ?
Right in our land the doctrine and
practice of plurality of wives tend to
the preservation of life. Do you
know it ? Do you see it ? What is
our duty ? To preserve life or
destroy it ? Can any of you answer ?
Why yes, it is to perpetuate and
preserve life. But what principle do
we see prevailing in our oivn land ?
What is that of which, in the East*
West, North and South, ministers in
their pulpits complain, and against
which both gentlemen and ladies
lecture ? It is against taking life.
They say, " Cease the destruction of
pre-natal life!" Our doctrine and
practice make and preserve life;
theirs destroy it. Which is the best,
saying nothing about revelation,
which is the best in a moral point; of
view, to preserve or to destroy the
life which God designs to bring upon
the earth. Just look at it and decide
for yourselves.
This house is very large, but as a
general thing the people have been
very attentive, and they have tried
to keep as still as possible. Still, I
44
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES*
believe they can improve a little, I
think that many of our sisters who
have children can stay nearer the
doors, and then, if they cannot prevent
their children crying, they can step
out. I do believe they can stop their
whispering. When there is anything
said from this Stand that pleases or
displeases you, you turn to your
neighbor and whisper, and the next
one does the same, and directly there
area few thousand whispeiing, creat-
ing a noise like the rushing of many
waters. Then you scrape your feet
a little, and the many little noises are
lite the dust that composes the
mountains and the whole earth.
Every person should be silent when
we meet here to worship God. Re-
member and try to keep perfectly
quiet, and do not whisper, talk, nor
scrape your feet j and do not let your
children cry if you can help it.
Twenty years ago I used to tell you
that you might pinch your children
to make them cry as loud as they
could if you wished, and I could
preach louder than they could cry,
I could do it then, but now I want all
to keep still*
I trust we shall long have the
privilege of enjoying this shade which
we have built ; it is a cover from the
burning sun in summer ; and when
the storm of rain comes this umbrella-
will shelter us. I perceive that, in
the gallery, there is a little more heat
bow than before; we shall open the
ventilators and put in some skylights,
then I think it will be as cool as in
•the past.
Brethren and sisters, I feel to bless
you. I ask my Father in heaven to
bless the Saints, to bless every quorum
and organization of his kingdom,
'from the First Presidency down to
the last organization to promote good
in the midst of his people, I pray
continually for the Bishops, presiding
Elders, High Councillors, and the
Female Relief Societies, I will bless
you, my sisters, if you will hearken
to the counsel which has been given
you with regard to these fashions.
Then, to my brethren, I say, I will
bless you, if you will seek a little
closer to sustain yourselves, by pre-
serving and wisely using that which
the Lord gives you, and not suffer
your cattle and sheep to die on the
prairies, but preserve them, that we
may have the wherewithal to supply
ourselves with the necessaries of life,
by raising sheep, building factories,
raising flax, the mulberry and silk
and other things useful I do not
care how beautifully you are adorned,
ladies, if you will only raise the silk
and adorn yourselves with your own
hands. That is the requirement of
heaven. It was so almost forty years
ago. The word of the Lord to his
Saints then was, " Let the beauty of
your apparel be the beauty of the
work of your own bands;' If you
will observe this, adorn yourselves as
much as you please* Make your
hats and bonnets, and also make hats
for your brothers and sons, ^It is
your duty to do it. Preserve that
that the Lord has given you, and
waste nothing, I can say to the
Latter-day Saints that there is no
man nor woman, person or persons,
but what I would rather feed, clothe,
and sustain than to see a particle
wasted in the midst of my family or
this people, God does not like it,
his Spirit is grieved with it, Idle-
ness and wastefulness are not accord-
ing to the rules of heaven. Preserve
all you can, that you may have abun-
dance to bless your friends and your
enemies, as we did in '49, '50 and '61 .
In those years we fed thousands and
thousands of poor, starving emigrants,
who had gold so big in their eyes
that, when they started for the Plains,
they did not know whether they had
anything to eat or not. By our
THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST, ETC.
45
instrumentality they were fed and
sent on their way rejoicing. If we
take the counsel now given we shall
have abundance to bless our enemies
if it be necessary. Shall we say that
we have any ? Yes, there are those
who would delight to be our enemies
if they knew how ; but they do not
know how, I do not suppose that
there was a greater enemy to the
Savior, when he was on the earth,
than the devil. How he did plead
with the Savior to worship him!
Said he, '* I will give you all you can
see, if you will fall down and worship
me." Bat Jesus rebuked him. Yet
the devil hunted and followed up
Jews and Gentiles, that is, the Romans,
until they betrayed the Redeemer
into the hands of his enemies, who
crucitied him, and in doing that they
consummated the great act for the
salvation of the human family, which
will cheat the devil out of pretty
much all of them, ono way or the
other If he had had any good sense
about him — but he was as short of
that as the infidels in our day — he
would have said, " I am with you, I
will go with you, pay your taxes, and
will make yon welcome to my house."
But no, the devil and his followers
did not know enough to do this^
neither do our enemies, and thank
God for it !
Again I say, I feel to bless my
brethren and sisters — every quorum,
every authority ; our brethren and
sisters who have sung for us, or
played on the organ. I thank you^
doorkeepers, and you who have waited
ou the congregation, and I say God
bless you, and in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ I bless the whole
house of Israel. I pray for the re-
demption of the centre stake of Zion,
! and the upbuilding thereof. It is
i before us continually in our faith,
and I hope that we shall live to see
it. Amen,
DISCOURSE BY ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON,
Delivered in the Taberxacle, Salt Lake City, August 15, 1869,
(Reported by David IF. Evans.)
Tilt: GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST TAUGHT BY THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS —
CELESTIAL MARRIAGE,
" I therefore, the prisoner of the the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Lord, beseech you that ye walk " There is one body and one Spirit,
worthy of the vocation wherewith ye even as ye are called in one hope of
are called. your calling ;
" With all lowliness and meekness, " One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
with long-suffering, forbearing one " One God and Father of all, who is
another in love ; ! above all, and through all, and in
" Endeavoring to keep the unity of i you all.
46 JOURNAL OF
"But unto every one of us is given
grace according to the measure of
the gift of Christ,
"Wherefore he saith, When he
ascended up on high, lie led captivity
captive, and gave gifts unto men.
"Now that he ascended, what is it
but that he also descended first into
the lower parts of the earth ?
m He that descended is the same also
that ascended far above all heavens,
that he might fill all things,
"And he gave some, apostles; and
gome, prophets ; and some, evange*
lists ; and, some, pastors and teachers ;
" For the perfecting of the Saints,
for the work ot the ministry, for the
edifying of the body of Christ :
"Till we all come in the unity of
the faith, and of the knowledge of
the Son of God, unto a perfect man,
tin to the measure of the stature of
the fulness of Christ :
" That we henceforth be no more
children, tossed to and fro, and earned
about with every wind of doctrine,
by the sleight of men, and cunning
craftiness, whereby they lie in wait
to deceive
These words are found in the 4th
chapter of the Epistle of Paul to the
Ephesians*
Probably at no time in the history
of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints has there been
more interest felt in relation to the
doctrines in which we believe and the
nature of the organization with which
we are connected and the bonds by
which we are united together than at
the present time. The completion
of the railroad has brought us imme-
diately in contact with the outside
world, and it has also brought us
prominently before the nations — not
only our own nation, bat other
nations ; and many people who have
heretofore felt little or no interest in
regard to the people called Latter-
day Saints are now, through travel,
DISCOURSES,
being brought in contact with them,
and are disposed to investigate and to
inquire concerning their faith and the
nature of their organization.
It is very Agreeable to us to have '
our principles investigated, for the
first Elders of the Church have
endeavored for nearly forty years to
disseminate a knowledge of them
among all people unto whom they
could get access. They have traveled
i throughout the length and breadth of
the nation, having visited every State
and nearly every township in the
Union. They have also traveled in
Canada, and have proclaimed the
Gospel in Europe and Asia, and some
have even gone to Africa and to the
islands of the sea. What we have
! done we have endeavored to do openly,
and have striven to make plain the
' principles we have advocated. The
greatest difficulty we have had to
contend with has been the indisposi-
tion of the people to listen. The
idea that has seemed to possess the
! minds of many was that they under-
stood our priuciples perfectly well,
and that it was unnecessary to say
another word about them.
Probably there is no people in the
world concerning whom so much has
been said, and there is probably no
people on the face of the earth who
are so little understood and concern-
ing whom there are so many mis-
representations in circulation. The
prevalent idea concerning ns in a
gi eat many circles is that we have
thrown aside the Bible and have
substituted in its stead a book of our
own, the Book of Mormon, and other
works, of modern origin, or works
which they consider of modern origin.
It is only a few weeks since that a
gentleman from the Eastern States
was invited to preach in the New
Tabernacle* He did so, and preached
a very eloquent discourse. He wTas
followed by President Young, and
THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST, ETC.
47
after the latter bad finished and the
meeting was dismissed this clergyman
said he had not the least idea that we
had so large a Christian element in
our faith until he heard that discourse
from President Young. He had sup-
posed that we bad set aside the Bible
and had taken the Book of Mormon
and the doctrines and revelations
contained in that and in the book of
Doctrine and Covenants as our rule
of faith.
He was not singular in that idea ;
it is the general belief in many circles,
and among people who, on other
subjects, are well informed. They
have an idea that we are a very
peculiar people, and that our pecu-
liarities have their origin in those
books. Of course among people who
have read the Book of Mormon and
the Book of Doctrine and Covenants
these ideas do not prevail, because
eucb persons are aware that those
books corroborate the Bible, and are
witness of the truth of the great
principles contained in the Old and
New Testaments, and teach precisely
the same.
The peculiarities, if such I hey may
be called, which distinguish us from
other people, have their origin in our
implicit faith in the Scriptures,
There is no principle nor doctrine of
our faith that we are not willing to
have tested by the revelations and
teachings contained in King James's
translation of the Bible; and our
Elders have gone forth taking that
as their text-oook, preaching trotn it
the principles which those now called
Latter-day Saints have embraced, and
which caused them to gather together
from the nations of the earth, to the
State of Ohio, then to Missouri, then
to Illinois, and then to these valleys.
This statement in ay sound strangely
to the ears of many, I have heard
people express considerable surprise
upon hearing it I recollect in my
early experience as an Elder meeting
and having considerable conversation
upon our principles with a clergyman.
I left with him the work called 11 The
Voice of Warning aud when I
called upon him again after a lapse
of a few days, he expressed his sur-
prise at there being any diversity
between the Latter-day Saints and
the orthodox sects, " for,*' said he,
" I see that you base your faith upon
and draw your arguments from the
New Testament," I admitted that
it was strange, but remarked to him
that it was because we received the
New Testament literally, and believed
that the teachings contained in that
book were intended to be understood
as they were written, and that when
God made a declaration, or his author-
ized servants preached the Gospel, or
made certain plain and positive pro-
mises, the design was that the children
of men should rely upon those pro-
mises and believe the principles of
that Gospel with the most unwavering
faith and expect their Jul hi men t to
the very letter, if they would only
comply with the conditions connected
therewith.
This is the great difficulty to-day j
this is the cause of the diversity of
beliefs in the Christian world. In-
stead of taking the word of the Lord
as it is, they wish to place their own
construction on that word so as to
suit their own peculiar ideas and
views; and having thus interpreted
it, they frame their belief in accord-
ance with that interpretation. But
it is very plain, from words contained
in the New Testament, that the Lord
expected his children to believe the
Gospel and to carry it out in their
practice, as it was delivered anciently.
For instance : Paul, on one occasion,
when writing to the Galatians, said —
"Though we, or an angel from
heaven, preach any other Gospel unto
you than that which we have preached
IB JOURNAL OF
unto you, let hitn be accursed/'
And, as if to make thi§ so positive
that it cou ld not I e misunderstood,
he repeated the language- Here an
anathema is pronounced upon the
head of any individual who should
attempt to preach any other Gospel
than that which the Apostle Paul
and the other Apostles had declared ;
even if au angel from heaven were to
declare anything opposed to or differ-
ing from it he was to be accursed.
It is highly important that man-
kind should understand what was the
nature of that Gospel, and whether
the creeds to which they have ren-
dered obedience in these days agree
with the principles preached by the
Apostles ; if they do not, they who
preach them are exposed to the
anathema pronounced by Paul, or his
words are not to be relied upon. It
is a very easy matter to find out what
the Apostles did preach ; there need
be no difficulty about this if people
will receive the teachings contained
in the New Testament, for there we
have a record of their labors and an
epitome of the doctrines they taught
and administered to the people.
If we refer to tfte first discourse
that was preached after the ascension
of Jesus into heaven ;i#e shall find
what the Apostles tanght on that
occasion, when inspired by the Holy
Ghost, to the inhabi tants of Jerusalem.
The people were excited over the
strange event that had taken place
in their midst ; for men of various
nations had gathered together to the
Holy City and the Apostles stood np
in the power and demonstration of
the Holy Ghost and declared to the
people there assembled the startling
intelligence that Jesus, whom they
had so recently crucified as an im-
postor, was indeed the Lord of life
and glory and was the veritable Son
of God, the Messiah, of which the
prophets had spoken, and for whose
DISCOURSES.
coming they had so long and anxiously
looked. This was unexpected intelli-
gence to th§m ; but the arguments of
the Apostles on this matter were so
convincing and the power of God so
apparent — each man hearing the
Gospel in his own tongue, that they
were pricked to the heart and were
convinced that Jesus was the Son of
God and the Savior of the world, and
they cried out, " Men and brethren,
what shall we do ?" It is very reason-
able to suppose that when the Apostles
answered this question, made under
such extraordinary circumstances,
they would declare the doctrines and
requirements which would be binding
on all the inhabitants of the earth
under similar circumstances. To
imagine anything eke would be to
suppose that which would be contrary
to reason and common sense. To
think that they would lell something
that was not necessary and essential
to salvation on such an important
occasion, when so many were pricked
to their hearts, is to suppose some*
thing that is not consistent with the
character of the Apostles and the
nature of their mission to the children
of men, Peter said unto them,
H Repent, and be baptized, every one
of you, in the name of Jesus Christ,
for the remission of your sins, and ye
Shall receive the gift of the Holy
Ghost. For the promise is unto you,
and to your children, and to all that
are afar off, even as many as the Lord
our God shall call." Thus, he set
before them in simplicity and in the
greatest plainness, the requirements
with which they most comply in
order to receive that which they
desired.
It was not necessary for him to say
unto them, Believe in the Ljrd Jesus
Christ, for they did already believe,
having been convinced through the
testimony of the Apostles. Peter,
therefore, said unto them, ** Repent'* —
THE GOSPEL OF J
ITS CHRIST, ETC
49
that being the next principle they had
to obey — " repent, and be baptized j
in the name of Jesus Christ, for the
remission of your sins, and ye shall
receive the Holy Ghost" He did
not say unto them, " Here is an
1 anxious bench,' " or, "Come and
thro w yourselves at the foot of the
cross, and seek with prayer before
the Lord until he remits yoar sins.**
He did not tell them to do any such
thing, but he told them to repent of
their sins, that is, to forsake them,
and to be baptized for the remission
of them, promising them that they
should receive the Holy Ghost, M For,"
said he, " the promise is unto you
and to your children and to all that
are afar off, even as many as the Lord
our God shall call." i
* How many did the Lord call ?
Why he has called all. He com-
manded the Apostles to go and preach
the Gospel to every creature, there-
fore every ha man being on the face
of the earth was called by the Lord ;
and the promise was unto the multi-
tude thore assembled and to all afar
off; hence, it is quite clear that all
the inhabitants of the earth had a
claim on this promise on complying
with the conditions prescribed—
namely, faith in Jesus Christ, re-
pentance of their sins, being baptized
for their remission, and having hands
laid upon them for the reception of
the Holy Ghost.
This was the Gospel which Peter
preached unto the people on the day
of Pentecost, and several thousands
of them went forth and were baptized
on that occasion. We find, by
examining the " Acts of the Apostles,"
that this was the nature of their
teaching on every occasion when
preaching to the people, and we also
find that when the people did comply 1
with these requirements the Holy
Ghost did rest upon them.
A great many have had the idea
No. 4.
that the Holy Ghost was only be*
j stowed upon those who were called
to act as officers in the churches; but
an investigation of the labors of the
Apostles will prove that this was not
the case, and will establish the fiicfc
that every individual, whether raalo
or female, who was baptized by the
servants of God for the remission of
sins, received the laying on of hands,
and also the Holy Ghost. You recol-
lect, doubtless, the record contained
in the Sth chapter of Acts, which
contains an account of Philip preach-
ing the Gospel in Samaria and bap-
tizing some believers. Philip, it
seems, had only the authority that
John the Baptist had, holding fcho
i same Priesthood as he did. It is
written of John that he said, " I
indeed baptize you with water unto
repentance ; but he that cometh after
me is mightier than I, whose shoes I
am not worthy to bear ; he shall
baptize you with the Holy Ghost and
with fire*" John never presumed to
lay on hands for the reception of the
Holy Ghost : he had not the authority.
He was a priest after the order of
Aaron ; he held the Aaron ic Priest-
hood, to which Priesthood belongs
not the authority to lay on hands for
the reception of the Holy Ghost, To
do this it requires a priest after the
Order of Melchizedec, which Jesus
i and his Apostles held/ Philip, after
leaving Samaria, baptized the Eunuch^
| but we do not read that he laid his
hands upon him, evidently proving
that fie held only the Priesthood of
Aaron. When the Apostles which
were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria
had received the Word of God^
through Philip, they sent unto thera
Peter and John, two of the Apostles,
who, when they came unto them^
prayed for them that they might
receive the Holy Ghost, and they laid
their hands upon them, and they
received the Holy Ghost. It did not
Vol xrv.
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES,
rest upon them previous to this
ordinance being attended to ; for the
Testament Bays the Holy Ghost had
Dot as yet fallen upon any of them,
although they had been baptized.
This shows that, not only is it neces-
sary for men to believe in Jesus
Christ, repent of their sins, and t>e
baptized for the remission of them,
but that they must receive the laying
on of Viands of those who have
authority, or they could neither claim
nor enjoy the Holy Ghost; but when
they did have hands laid upon them,
wonderful to relate in this age of un-
belief, the Holy Ghost rested down
upon them and they were filled there-
with, and they were bound and united
together, and they knew the things
to* God and enjoyed the gifts of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ*
On one occasion Paul met with a
number of disciples at Ephesus and
be inquired of them if they bad re-
ceived the Holy Ghost since they
believed. Tiiey told him they had
not bo much as heard whether there
be any Holy Ghost. He then in-
quired unto what then were they
baptized. They replied they were
baptized unto John's baptism. Paul
baptized them anew, and laid hands
cpon them, and, we are told, they
received the Holy Ghost and spake
with tongues and prophecied. Paul
bad authority; he held the MeU
chizedec Priesthood, in which was
included the authority to lay on hands
for the reception of the Holy Ghost
This is the manner in which the
Apostles preached the Gospel ; there
is no record of their doing it in any
.other way. We do not read of their
teaching the people the plan of salva-
tion in any other way,
A great many, to prove that bap-
tism and laying on of hands are not
necessary, have cited the case of
Cornelius, who, though he was not
baptized, received the Holy Ghost.
The case of Cornelius is the only case
of the kind on record, and there were
strong reasons why it should he as it
was with him. The Gospel and its
ordinances were administered only to
the Jews; Cornelius was a Gentile,
and between the two races strong
prejudices existed, the Jews looking
upon the Gentiles as far inferior to
them. Cornelius and his household
were the first Gentiles to whom the
Gospel was preached, they received
it, and the Lord, to show to the
Apostles that the Gentiles were en-
titled to the ordinances of salvation
as well as the Jews, if they viere
willing to comply with the require-
ments of the Gospel, conferred the
Holy Ghost upon Cornelius and his
family. When Peter saw this family
he said, "Of a truth I perceive that
God is no respecter of persons, but in
every nation he that teareth him and
woiketh righteousness is accepted
with him." And when afterwards,
he heard them speak with tongues
and magnify God, he said, " Can any
man forbid water that these should
not be baptized which have received
the Holy Ghost as well as we ? A nd
he commanded them to be baptized
in the name of the Lord." Peter did
not say, Cornelius, yon have received
the Holy Ghost as well as we have,
and there is no necessity for you to
obey any further ordinances, which,
under the circumstances, if he had
considered baptism or the laying on
of hands non-essential, he would have
been very likely to do; but instead
of that he commanded them to be
baptized. Peter took this, as the
Lord intended it, as an evidence that
the Gentiles as well as the House of
Israel were entitled to the Gospel*
And he had them baptized, and
without doubt laid his hands upon
them to confirm upon them the gift
they had received. Had Cornelius,
at that hour, stood upon his dignity
THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST, ETC
51
and said, There is no necessity for
me to be baptized for the remission
of my sins, God having given me the
Holy Ghost without obeying that
ordinance, and having already re-
ceived the Holy Ghost, I have no
need to have hands laid upon me,
there is not a doubt in my mind but
what that precious and inestimable
gift would have been withdrawn from
him, and he would not have enjoyed
it after. It could only be continued
to him on condition of his obeying
the ordinances which God had placed
in bis Church and which he required
all the inhabitants of the earth "to
submit to without hesitation ; and
without doubt, Cornelius wisely went
forward and obeyed those ordinances*
This was the manner iu which the
Apostles preached the Gospel to the
inhabitants ot the earth in those days.
They did not say to the people, " You
must seek the Holy Ghost and
probably the Lord will give it to you
if you will only exercise faith enough
but they told the people plainly and
positively, without the least hesitation,
that if they would comply with certain
requirements they should receive the
Holy Ghost. The only condition was
their sincerity and faithfulness in
obeying the requirements.
What were the fruits of this preach-
ing ? Wherever the Apostles went
and the people received their testi-
mony the Spirit of God rested upon
them and their hearts were united,
and they enjoyed the gifts of prophecy,
healing, tongues, interpretation of
tongues, discerning of spirits, wisdom,
knowledge and all the varied gilts of
the Gospel necessary for their growth
and development in the things of
God. This was not the case at
Jerusalem alone, but in far off Ephesus
and in the various cities of Asia
Minor where Paul preached ; and
throughout the length and breadth of
the earth wherever the Apostles
I traveled these peculiar gifts and
manifestations were enjoyed.
Paul, who had been separated from
the rest of the Apostles for a number
of years, found when he came to
Jerusalem and was united with them,
that he had precisely the same know-
ledge concerning the Gospel of Christ
that they had ; the Holy Ghost had
taught it to him the same as it had
to Peter, James, John, Andrew and
the rest of the Apostles. And had
they been permitted to continue their
labors the inhabitants of the earth, if
they had received the Gospel, would
. have been united together as one in
the things of God.
Does anybody wonder that there
is division now in Christendom ?
Does anybody wonder that, instead
of there being " One Lord, one faith
and one baptism," as recorded in the
words I have read in your hearing,
there are, it may be said, many lords,
many faiths and many baptisms ?
Does anybody wonder at this? I
cannot when I see how men have
strayed from the path that Jesus
marked out; when I hear men say
that baptism is non-essential Wbat
a wide difference between snch persons
and the Lord Jesus Christ! You
will remember that when John came
baptizing in the wilderness Jesus
applied to him for baptism, and, in
answer to the remonstrance of John,
who seemed to think that he had
more need to be baptized by the
j Savior than for the Savior to be
baptized by him, Jesus said, " Suffer
it to be so now ; for thus it becometh
us to fulfil all rightmnSTtess" The
wonder is that there is a remnant of
faith in Jesus left in the world when
we see how widely men havfe diverged
from the paths in which the Apostles
walked, and from the doctrines which
they taught.
We must always bear in mind that
which Paul said — u Though we, or
52 ' JOURNAL OF
an angel from heaven, preach any
other Gospel uuto you than that
which we have preached unto yon,
let him he accursed/* We most bear
this in mind when we investigate the
nature of the Apostles' teachings and
the ordinances and doctrines which
they administered and taught. If
they who profess to be preachers of
the Gospel diverge in the least from
the doctrines and principles taught
by the Apostles they place themselves
in a position to receive the condemna-
tion which Paul invoked.
I have endeavored in these remarks
to bring your minds to the faith the
Saints once enjoyed, and to the
teachings which the Apostles, in their
day, laid before the people, and called
upon them in all earnestness to obey.
1 have done this in order that you
may be prepared for that which we
teach, for we teach precisely the same
principles that they did. Men wonder
and say, " How is it that you Latter-
day Saints can live together as you
do ? How is it that you are so
united ?" The secret lies in the fact
that we have the same principles to
teach to the people that were taught
by the ancient Apostles, and the same
results follow in our case as in theirs.
It has been frequently remarked to
the Elders, when abroad, u What
necessity was there for an angel to
come from heaven to earth to bring,
as you say he did, the everlasting
Gospel when we have the Bible and
Christian organizations and Christian
churches all through the land ?"
This is a very important question,
and one to which I will try and give
a satisfactory answer. There would
have been no necessity of any such
thing if the ch arches, at the time
Joseph Smith sought for knowledge,
had taught the same principles the
Apostles declared, and if believers in
these days had enjoyed the same gifts
and blessings that they did in theirs.
DISCOURSES,
But if there was such a church at
that time history has failed to record
the fact. There was no man on tho
face of the earth, of whom we have
heard, who declared to the people
t!i at if they would believe in Jesus
and repent of their sins and be bap-
tized for the remission of them, they
should receive the Holy Ghost. On
the contrary, the bestowal of the
Holy Ghost, as anciently, with its
gifts and powers, was denied by the
whole Christian world. They declared
that these gifts were not for this
genemtion, but were bestowed upon
the primitive church for the whole
and sole purpose of establishing the
Gospel of Jesus Christ, and that
when that was accomplished there
wi»s no longer any need for them.
That was the belief in Christendom
then, and that is the belief there now ;
you may hear it expressed on every
band when conversing on these sub-
jects. They will declare that there
is no necessity for these gifts in this
age, as if the Holy Ghost could be
enjoyed by man and these gifts not
manifested! Such a thing is im-
possible ! There would have been no
necessity for the restoration of the
Gospel to the earth by an angel if
the keys and priesthood by which the
^ancient Apostles officiated had not
been taken from the earth. It is true
t hat the Catholic Church claims direct
succession from the Apostles; other
churches claim the same; and all,
claiming any authority whatever,
endeavor to trace it back to them.
They all base their claims to authority
on the fact that the Apostles received
'it. The Catholic Church, especially,
claim uninterrupted descent from
Peter and the last of the Apostles.
But, while so doing, they ignore the
fact that as long as there was a man
on the earth who laid claim to
authority direct from God the in-
habitants warred against him, until
THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST, ETC
53
they had succeeded in killing him, as
they had all others. This fact,
tho'gh as familiar as any fact to the :
student of history, is lost sight of by
the Catholic Church. So long as the
Apostles lived, and so long as any
man lived who had been associated
with them in their labors, there was
an incessant persecution carried on
against them. And it is recorded
that every one of them, except John,
died a violent death. They tried to .
kill John j they immersed him in a
cauldron of boiling oil and bent him
to the Isle of Patmos to work in the
lead mines, and persecuted him in
various ways ; but, owing to the
promise of God, they could not kill
him. Peter was crucified at Rome
with his head downwards, not con-
sidering himself worthy to be crucified
as his Lord bad been. Paul was !
beheaded in Rome ; the other Apostles
were killed in various ways, every
one of them suffering an ignominious
death because of their belief in Jesus;
because they believed God was a God
of revelation, and because they laid
claim to authority from Jesus to
administer the ordinances of his
church. Tii is was the course pursued
by the inhabitant* of the earth until
the Apostles and every man having
authority had been killed, and the
gifts and blessings had entirely dis*
appeared from the earth. After this
men took to themselves doctrines to
accommodate themselves, the rites
and many of the doctrines of Paganism
and portions of existing institutions
were incorporated into the Christian
Church, until almost every vestige ot
the pure doctrines had disappeared,
and nothing was left but mere forms.
Is it any wonder that the Latter-
day Saints claim that it was necessary
for an angel to fly through the midst
of heaven, having the everlasting
Gospel to preach to the nations of
the earth ? If authority to administer
in the ordinances of the Gospel had
existed among men there would have
been no such necessity ; but that
authority had been taken b.ick to God
who gave it, and it had to be restored
by him or it could not be exercised
on the earth again.
Where were Apostles to be found ?
Why they were unpopular; every
man that had held the Apostleship
had been killed, yet in the words
which I have read in your hearing it
is said —
" He gave to some Apostles, some
prophets, some evangelists, and some
pastors and teachers."
And yet men tell us to-day that
Apostles are not necessary ! Is it
surprising that the results which we
see have followed such unbelief in
Apostles ? It was very dangerous to
be called Apostles ! It sounded better
to be called Bishops or some other
title; it suited the popular ear better
and did not excite the persecution
which the name of Apostle did. Yet
in the words of Paul we are told
that Apostles, prophets, evangelists,
pastors and teachers were placed in
the Church, for the perfecting of the
Saints, for the work of the ministry,
the edifying of the body of Christ.
If there is any man on the earth who
can prove from the Scriptures that
Apostles are not necessary in tho
Chureh of Christ, then he can prove
thut the words of Paul and the rest
of the Apostles are not trustworthy,
for Paul tells us that they were placed
in the Church for the work of the
ministry, the perfecting of the Saints,
and they were to continue there
" Till we all come in the unity of
the faith, and of the know ledge of
the Son of God, unto a perfect man,
unto the measure of the stature of the
fulluess of Christ : that we henceforth
I bo no more children, tossed to and
fro, and carried about with every
wind of doctrine, by the sleight of
A 4 JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
men, and cunning craftiness, whereby
they lie in wait to deceive/'
Is there room for wonder that men
are carried about by every wind of
doctrine, and that they are deceived
by the conning craft of men, when
they no longer believe in Apostles
and prophets, and have taken in their
stead self-constituted ministers, men
who never received authority to
administer in the things of God?
Can any te surprised that Christen-
dom is split up as it is to-day, and
that men fire so confused in relation
to the doctrines of Christ? or i hat
infidelity rears its head so defiantly in
the midst of Christendom ? No, it
cannot be wondered at, when men
have so widely departed from and so
flagrantly disobeyed the plain teach-
ings of Scripture as we find them
recorded in the New Testament The
condition of Christendom alone is, of
itself, sufficient to piove to every
reasoning mind that it there is a God
in heaven, as we know there is ; that
if there is such a principle as divine
revelation, which we declare to be
true; if there are such beings sur-
rounding the throne of God as angels,
of which we bear testimony, there
never was a greater necessity for
angels to be sent to earth, or lor
revelation to be given to man, than
in the day in which we live* Some
may say that we have the Bible and
its divine teachings to peruse at our
leisure; but it has frequently been
remarked by those who scoff at it that
it is like a fiddle, every kind of a tune
can be played upon it. It requires
something more than the Bible to
guide man to eternal life. It requires
divine inspiration, it requires the
Holy Ghost, it requires the Priest-
hood, as it existed in ancient days, to
be restored; and I thank God with
all my heart, this morning, that
I do know it has been restored. I
thank God from the bottom of my
heart that I have this knowledge*
Before me, in this Territory, I see
the fruits of this restoration — pre*
cisely the same fruits that followed
the Priesthood anciently, I see, here,
people gathered from various nations,
of various creeds, speaking various
languages, and having been reared
and educated in a very dissimilar
manner, from limited monarchies,
from despotic monarchies and from
republics, and yet. they dwell together
in unity, worship God alike, live lives
of good order, truth -and holiness,
and love one another, which is an
evidence, as the Apostle says, that
they have passed from death unto
life. This unity is one of the greatest
evidences that can be given that we
are the disciples of Christ, for he has
said
41 If ye are not one, ye are not mine."
And it is also one of the strongest
evidences that can be given that
Jesus is the Christ, for, on one occa-
sion, when praying to the Father that
his disciples might be one, he said —
"Neither pray I fir these alone;
but for them also which shall believe
on me through their word ; that they
all may be one ; as thou, Father, art
in me and I in thee, that they also
may be one in us; that the world
mav believe that thou hast sent me/'
- As a people the unity of the Latter-
day Saints is proverbial, and furnishes
a powerful testimony that we have
walked with Christ, and have received
the blessings following the bestowal
of the Holy Ghost.
Th ese are some of the doctrines
that the Latter-day Saints believe in;
time would fail to tell all. We
believe that God is the same yester-
day, to-day and for ever; that he is
a God of revelation, and that the
reason he has not revealed himself
for centuries is because the people so
cruelly persecuted his anointed ones
when he sent them into their midst*
THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST, ETC
55
Their blood has cried for vengeance
on the inhabitants of the earth, and
he has closed the heavens, as it were,
for centuries, our forefathers having
been left only with such light as
they could obtain without the Priest-
hood. But has he not bestowed his
Holy Spirit upon men ? Yes, millions
of people have received the Holy
Spirit to a certain extent, although I
not in its fulness, Luther had it,
when he was inspired to war against
the iniquities that existed in the
Romish Church. He was raised up
especially to prepare the way for the
manifestation of the work of God in.
the last days, Calvin and Melancthon
had a portion of the Holy Spirit, and
so had all the Reformers who followed |
them ; and though they had not the
authority to build up the Church of
God in its ancient purity, they still
had a work to do and they have come
in their days and generations and
have labored zealously, indefatigably
and fearlessly, regardless of death,
inspired of God to do the work which
they performed in the various lands
in which they labored — Germany,
France, England, Scotland, and
various parts of Europe, and also in
our own land — America* John
Wesley, also, was raised up and in*
spired of God to do a work, and he
did it.
Not only have these religious re-
formers been inspired to do a work
in preparing for the advent of the
kingdom of God upon the earth ; but
others have been raised for the same
purpose. Columbus was inspired to
penetrate the ocean and discover this
Western continent, for the set time
for its discovery had come; and the
consequences which God desired to
follow its discovery have taken place
— a free government has been estab-
lished on it The men who established
that Government were inspired of
God — George Washington, Thomas
Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin
Franklin, and all the fathers of the
Republic were inspired to do the work
which they did. We believe it was
a preparatory work for the establish-
ment of the kingdom of God, This
Churen and kingdom could not have
been established on the earth if their
work had not been performed, or a
work of a similar character. The
kingdom of God could not have beea
established in Asia amid the despo-
tisms there ; nor in Africa, amid the
darkness there; it could not have
been built up in Europe amid the
monarchies which crowd every inch
of its surface. It had to oe built up
on this land, hence this land had to be
discovered. It was not discovered
too soon; if it had been it would
have been overrun by the nations of
the earth, and no place would have
been found, even here, tor the kingdom
of God, It was discovered at the
right time and by the right man,
inspired of God not to waver or
shrink ; but, undaunted by the diffi-
culties with which he was surrounded*
and contending with a mutinous crew,
he persevered, and continued bis
journey westward until he discovered
this land, the existence of which God
had inspired him to demons trute.
It was necessary that George Wash-
ington should be raised up, that the
battles of the Republic should be
fought, that the Colonies bhould be
emancipated from the fetters of the
mother country, and declared free
and independent States. Why ?
Because God had in view the restore
tion of the everlasting Gospel to the
earth again, and in addition to this
the set time had come for him to
build up his kingdom and to accom-
plish the fulfilment of his long
deferred purposes,
Jesus said unto Jerusalem, " How
often would 1 have gathered thy
children together, even as a hen
JOURNAL OF
WSCOUKSES.
gatbereth her chickens under her
W'ngs, and ye would not I "But the
prophets tell us that in the last days
the people of God shall be gathered
together from th6 different parts of
the earth and be united together in
one people. It was necessary, there-
fore, that a land should be prepared
and a form of go vein meet be estab-
lished within its borders without
conflicting with it. Therefore, re-
ligious liberty and toleration have
been proclaimed throughout the length
and breadth of this land. Men fought,
bled and died in vindication of these
principles, and they were incorporated
into the Constitution, and we, to-day,
are reaping the blessed results ot
their labors. Shall they not have
glory in the sight of God for those
labors? Yes, glory and honor and
blessings and immortality will rest
upon men who have been instruments
in the hands of God in bringing to
pass his great and marvellous pur-
poses. We have the greatest charity
for them; we know that God will
save and bless them. We know,
further, that their sins were sins of
ignorance. Where there is no law,
it is said, there is no transgression.
They had not the fulness of the Gospel
declared unto them ; but the genera*
tion in which we live hear the law
and the testimony, and they will be
Jaeld accountable lor this knowledge,
God will hold you, my brethren,
Sisters and friends, strictly account*
able for that which you hear. You
live in a day and age when the pur-
poses of God are transpiring before
your eyes, and when you see the
nighty going forth of his gieat work.
Uen, generally, however, will not
look at it, and yet they are ready to
declare that if they knew the work of
God was progressing they would be
willing to help it forward. They are
the same as the Jews were with the
Lord Jesus Christ. When he was
with them he was despised and put
to death; now men think they honor
him, but if he lived upon the earth
to* day do you think he would be
honored ? He would be treated
to-day as he was then, God sent his
only Son, the Prince of life and glory ;
he came to the earth in humble mien,
in the garb of poveity, speaking
ungrammatically, yet he was heaven's
Prince, the Lord of all tilings. He
was born in a stable and cradled in a
manger* But God's noble sons are
not always born to thrones ; some of
the noblest men who have lived on
earth have not been lound in the
courts of kings. Where shall we
look for them ? Frequently among
the humble and lowly. I thank God
it is so, I have found among the
humble and lowly, men with minds
which were like rich jewels; men
who loved the truth, and who have
been willing to die for principle. I
have also found many of the rich and
noble who have
'* Crooked the pregnant hinges of the knee,
That thrift might follow fawning/'
And who have been willing to do
anything to curry favor, who wor-
shipped popularity, and wcjre ready
to bow at its shrine in humble, abject
reverence. While among the poor,
the meek, and the lowly, I have
known nun, and we all doubtless
have, who would die rather than step
aside from principle. Among such
God h;us placed his nobles in this
generation, in order to be pioneers in
this work and lay its foundations.
They could sacrifice, and eudure
poverty for the sake of truth, and
they have done eo, and have risked
all, braving the world fearlessly,
establishing principle after principle,
and declaring truth, in all its sim-
plicity and purity, to the nations of
the eat lb. Thus far God has vindi-
cated their course and upheld them
and has borne them off triumphantly,
THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHKIST, ETC.
57
and he will continue to do so until
the victory is achieved and the desired
consummation of his purposes is
reached.
This work will stand and spread
abrosd, because it is the work of God*
After awhile it will gather within its
fold men who, at the present time,
consider it beneath their notice. It
will accomplish the destiny that has
been assigned to it. It will gather
every honest man and woman on the
face of the earth ; all who will acknow-
ledge truth will receive and rejoice
in th$ work* I thank God that it is
restored to the earth. It is more '
precious than the good will of men to
know God, To have the spirt of
truth, and the union and fellowship
which exist among the Latter-day j
Saints* is worth more than the riches
of California, more than all the mines
of the earth, or all the jewels in the
crown of every monarch on the earth,
or their entire treasures, because they
will fade away, but these will endure
for ever. And the man who oheys
the Gospel of Je&us need not feel that
he is bound or enslaved, or deprived
of the exercise of any of the faculties,
as many suppose. He is emancipated
from thraldom ; he can rejoice in the
light of truth, and go forward and
embrace every principle of truth.
Not religious truth alone; it is a
wrong idea that people who are re-
ligious must confine themselves to
what are termed religious truths only.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ embraces
within its scope every truth known
to man j every truth pertaining to
astronomy, geology and every other
science belongs to and is incorporated
in that Gospel.
. I have spoken thus far and have
not said a single word about that
much- mooted doctrine — plurality of
wives. I expect there are gentlemen
and ladies here who would rather
hear that spoken of than all that could
be eaid besides; who would rather
hear an Elder tell how many wives
and children he has got than all that
could be said about Jesus, his Apostles,
; the Holy Ghost or its gifts. There
is a prurient curiosity on the part of
a great many people in relation to
this subject, and were it not tran-
| scending the bounds of politeness,
about the first question they would
ask after being introduced to an Elder
would be, " How many wives and
children have you got ?" That is
about the extent of their desires.
Here is a great phenomenon before
their eyes in this Territory, of intense
interest and of immense importance,
yet their souls cannot rise high enough
to comprehend the first feature of it,
and no higher than to ask about the
number ol a man's wives ! When I
hear such inquiries I pity the person
who makes them. I think if a person
cannot allow his or her mind to rise
any higher than that, he or she is in
a most deplorable condition.
1 am satisfied that there is an im-
mense amount of misunderstanding
among the people of the world with
respect to the Latter-day Saints and
their I elief in this peculiar doctrine.
It is generally believed that we have
embraced it for sensual purposes, and
that we are a sensual people. We see
these ideas frequently advanced in
newspapers, and it is stated by them
that we gather the people from the
nations because of this doctrine.
What a silly idea ! Why, any man
; with a grain of common sense might
know better if he would give a little
reflection to the matter! How much
easier it would be, if we were licen-
tious, to practice licentiousness ac-
cording to the popular method ! Why
go to the trouble and expense and
incur the odium of sustaining wives
and children merely to gratify licen-
tiousness, when we could do it to the
fullest extent, on the popular plan,
58
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
without incurring odium or assuming
responsibility and care? Read the
records of New York, Washington,
Chicago, and the records of all the
cities enfit and west oh our continent,
and then go to the old world, and
yon may find that men can gratify
their lustful desire without incurring
odium. They can even destroy
females by the thousands in the
gratification of their sensual appetites,
but because the Latter-day Saints
choose to marry them, to make
women and their children respected
and honorable, all hell is moved
against them. The devil does not
like it. I will tell you a rule, brethren,
sisters and f riends, that I have ob-
served through my intercourse with
men, in my travels, and that is, that
they who have opposed this principle
most bitterly when they understood
it, have been the most corrupt men,
the very men who have practiced
adultery and whoredom in secret;
while openly, to hear them speak of
our system of patriarchial marriage,
one might think them immaculate;
but I never found pure-minded men
or women, honest and true to their
God, and to their partners if they had
them, but what, when they heard it
explained as the Saints in this Terri-
tory understand, preach and practice
it, let them believe what tbey might
on other points, they would acknow-
ledge that there was something god-
like in that doctrine, if we carried it
out as we believed it. That has been
my experience.
We are solving the problem that is
before the world to-day, over which
they are pretending to rack their
brains. I mean the u Social Problem,"
We close the door on one side, and
say that whoredoms, seductions and
adulteries must not be committed
amongst us, and we say to those who
are determined to carry on such
things we will kill you ; at the same
time we open the door in the other
direction and make plural marriage
honorable. What is the result?
Why, a healthy, pure and virtuous
community, a community which, in
these respects, has no equal on the
earth,
I say these few words by way of
explanation ; they are very inadequate
to convey the ideas that we entertain,
and that I would like to convey to
my hearers, in relation to celestial
marriage. That God may bless and
sustain you in the practice of truth, is
my prayer, in the name of Jesus.
Ainen.
DISCOUKSE BY ELDER ORSON PfiATT,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, March 26, 1871*
(Reported by David W. Evans.)
THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS AND THE REBUILDING OF JERUSALEM-
THE LATTER-DAY KINGDOM OF GOD — GATHERING OF ISRAEL,
I will call the attention of this
congregation to a portion of the
word of the Lord contained in
the first five verses of the fourth
THE RESTORATION
OF THE JEWS, ETC,
59
chapter of the prophecies of Isaiah —
* ** Comfort ye, comfort ye my
people, saith your God.
** Speak ye comfortably to Jeru-
salem, and ciy unto her, that her
warfare is accomplished, that her
iniquity is pardoned ; for she hath
received of the Lord's hand dotible
for all her sins.
44 The voice of him that crieth in
the wilderness, prepare ye the way of
the Lord, make straight in the desert
a high way for our God.
" Every valley shall be exalted,
and every mountain and hill shall be
made low ; and the crooked shall be
made straight, aud the rough places
plain :
" And the glory of the Lord shall
be revealed, and all flesh shall see it i
together: for the mouth of the Lord
hath spoken it."
Tfiese are the words of the inspired
Prophet Isaiah, most of which remain
to be fulfilled. The first two verses
contain a prediction not yet fulfilled :
" Comfort ye my people, saith your
God ; .speak comfortably to Jerusalem,
cry unto her that her warfare is
accomplished, that her iniquity is ;
pardoned, for she hath received of the 1
Lord's hand double for all her sins/' .
Every person who is acquainted
with the history of the inhabitants of
Jerusalem very well knows that this
prediction has never received a ful-
fillment^ In consequence of the
wickedness of that people, and the
great transgressions that they com-
mitted in the sight of heaven in
rejecting the Lord, their true Messiah,
great and severe calamities and judg- j
ments came upon them, and have
continued upon them and their pos-
terity until this age of the world. In
other words, all those curses which
are pronounced in the Book of Deu-
teronomy upon the head of Israel
have literally been fulfilled during the
past eighteen hundred years. I have
no need to enter into particulars with
regard to that devoted race; but I
will state, very briefly, some of the
judgments that they have endured.
After the Prophet Isaiah had de-
livered this prophecy they suffered
severely at the hands of the Baby-
lonians, who, about six centuries
before Christ, came against the Jews
and Jerusalem and destroyed many
of their nation, and carried the rem-
nant of them into captivity to Babylon,
, where they remained some seventy
years. They then returned and re-
built their city and temple, and were
I chastened at various times from that
► period until their Messiah came, in
| fulfilment of the prophecies and
predictions of Isaiah concerning the
first advent of the Redeemer. He
came, as he, himself/ expressed it, to
his own, but his own received him
not. They looked upon him as a
base impostor, as a Sabbath-breaker,
a gluttonous man and a wine-bibber.
Instead of being a moral character,
in their estimation, he was a friend of
publicans and sinners, and associated
with them instead of with those who
professed to be religions. They per-
secuted, hated and reviled him ; and
finally succeeded, in fulfilment of
prophecy, in crucifying him.
Jesus, before he was crucified, said
unto the Jews, " I say unto you that
the kingdom of God shall be taken
from you, and shall be given to a
people who shall bring forth the
fruits thereof" As much as to say,
. " You once enjoyed the fruits of the
kingdom ; you once had in your
midst inspired men, prophets, great
and holy men who spoke as they were
moved upon by the Holy Ghost ; you
once enjoyed all the blessings and
gifts of the kingdom of God ; in the
days of your righteousness you en-
joyed these fruits in abundance. But,
alas ! you have departed from the
laws of that kingdom; you have
CO JOURNAL OF
forsaken the religion of your fathers ;
you have turned your hearts away,
you have apostatized from the truth,
and the fruits that were enjoyed by
your fathers no longer exist among
you. Your fathers were in possession
of all the miraculous fruits and
blessings and gifts of the kingdom.
They could prophecy and see visions ;
they could hear the voice of the Lord
speaking to them ; they could enjoy
the power and gift of the Holy Spirit;
work miracles in the name of the
Lord ; heal the sick ; cast out devils
and perform all these miracles that
are recorded in the Old Testament ;
and these were the fruits of that
kingdom which you, the Jewish
nation, once enjoyed ; but because you
have rejected your Messiah, rejected
the testimony of the prophets con-
cerning him; rejected the testimony
given in the law of Moses, and those
great types pointing to the Messiah,
you, in turn, shall be rejected, the
kingdom shall be taken from you, ■
and it shall be given to a nation
who shall bring forth the fruits .
thereof"
Again, Jesus says, before he was
crucified, when looking upon Jeru-
salem, the capital city of the Jews,
u 0, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that
killcst the prophets, and stonest them '
that are sent unto thee, how often
would I have gathered you together
as a hen gathers her chickens under
her wings, but ye would not"
Again, after enumerating their
wickednesses, pointing out their apos-
tacy, and pronouncing a great variety
of woes upon them, he finally delivers
a prediction of this nature upon the
heads of this devoted people, " There
shall be great distress in the land,
and wrath upon this people; they
shall be destroyed by the edge of the
sword ; they shall be carried away
captive into all nations, and Jerusalem
shall be trodden down by the Gentiles
DISCOURSES.
until the times of the Gentiles are
iulfilled."
This was literally fulfilled upon
their heads. Titus, the Roman general,
laid siege to that city and overcame
the Jews, eleven hundred thousand of
whom were killed, and ninety-seven
thousand taken into captivity, many
of the latter being afterwards perse-
cuted and killed by their enemies;
thus a poor, miserable remnant were
scattered abroad among all the various
nations and kingdoms of the earth.
Jerusalem, their beloved city, where
their temple was built, where the
name of the Lord was placed, and
from which they had been warned by
the mouth of the prophets, where
the voice of inspiration had been
heard j where Jesus himself, who
spake as never man spake, ministered
for many months. That city was
delivered up to the Gentiles, and
overcome by them ; the stones ol their
beautiful temple were torn down to
the very foundation, and the city
passed into the hands of the Gentiles,
and has remained in their possession
from that day until the present time,
which, I think, is now precisely 18
centuries since that people were scat-
tered and became a hiss and a bye-
word among all nations. It was said
this morning that they invoked the
curse of the Almighty on their heads
when they said, at the crucifixion of
the Savior, " Let his blood be upon
us and upon our children." The
Lord took them at their word, and
his blood has been answered upon
their heads, and upon the heads of
their children, and their children's
children, until eighteen long centuries
have rolled away.
When will the time come for this
great curse to be removed from the
Jewish nation? When shall it be
said that " her iniquity is pardoned,
she has received at the Lord's band
double for all her sins ?" When shall
THE RESTORATION
OF THE JEWS, ETC,
the message go forth, in the words of
our text, ** Comfort ye, comfort ye
my people, saith your God ? Speak
ye comfortably to Jerusalem, cry unto
her that her warfare is accomplished,
that her iniquity is pardoned, for she
has received at the Lord's hand
double for her sins," I ask the
question ; where shall we get the
reply ? In what way will this com-
forting message be delivered to the
inhabitants or the earth? When
shall this glorious cry go forth con-
cerning this persecuted, down-trodden
people? When shall Jerusalem be
rebuilt in all its beauty and glory by
the hand of the people who have been
so long scattered among the nations ?
When sliall that beautiful and holy
temple be again reared upon its former
foundations, and the glory of the
Lord be manifested in it ? There is
such a proclamation to be made
manifest., such a message to go forth
by Divine authority and power, and
to be delivered to the children of
men, comforting the inhabitants of
Jerusalem and declaring that her
warfare is accomplished.
Before this great message for the
redemption and salvation of the
Jewish nation can ever go forth, there
is a certain work to be performed on
the earth, certain purposes to be ful-
filled, and until that is fulfilled and
accomplished, Jerusalem can never be
rebuilt, and the Jews can never
return as a nation. A decree has
gone forth by the mouth of the Son
of God himself, that that city should
be in the possession of the Gentiles,
and that it should be trodden down
by them, and that the Jews should be
scattered among the nations until the
times of the Gentiles are fulfilled,
Who, among all the inhabitants of
the earth, can tell us how the Lord
will bring about the fulfilment of this
prediction in regard to the Gentiles ?
Who is able to declare when the
times of the Gentiles will be fulfilled ?
Who knows anything about it, unless
it be revealed from heaven? We
might pore over the pages of the
Bible, understand many of the pro-
phecies that have been fulfilled, and
be able to treasure up in our hearts
and commit to memory all the pre-
dictions of the prophets, and yet*
without new revelation, no person
would be ahle to decide when the
times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
We might, of course, by c ire fully
searching the prophecies, judge of
the particular period of age of the
world in which that would take place;
but to come to the exact year is out
of the power of human wisdom, it
cannot comprehend it; nothing but
new revelation can put us in possession
of this important knowledge. In
vain may attempts be made, by the
organization of societies, for the
amelioration of the condition of the
Jews; in vain will societies be or-
ganized for their restoration to their
own land and the rebuilding of Jeru-
salem, until the Lord's time arrive.
It may not be amiss to declare, in
a very few words, the belief of the
Latter-day Saints, in regard to the
fulfilling of the times of the Gentiles;
that is, what we understand by the
fulfilling of their times, We believe,
as was said this morning, that before
the limes of the Gentiles can possibly
be fulfilled, a proclamation must come
from heaven and be sounded in their
eais — namely, that an angel must
come from heaven and bring the
everlasting Gospel, not for the Jews,
the descendants of Israel, alone, but
for every nation, kindred, tongue and
people. Gentiles and Jews, all must
bear it, for the prediction is that
when the angel comes forth with that
message from heaven, it is to be
preached to all nations, kindreds,
tongues and people. This, of course,
includes Gentiles as well as Jews.
We cannot, therefore, suppose that
the times of the Gentiles will be
fulfilled until after that event takes
place. When the angel comes, when
the servants of God are sent forth by
Divine authority with a proclamation,
and have fulfilled that prediction by
declaring the everlasting Gospel to
all the nations and kingdoms of the !
Gentiles, then their times will be
fulfilled, and not before.
What would be the use of sending
the Gospel to the Gentiles if their
times were fulfilled and there was no
hope or chance for them to receive
salvation ? The very declaration —
that an smgrl shall come forth with
the Gospel in the latter days before
the destruction of the wicked, and
that that Gospel is to be preached to
Gentiles as well as Jews, is proof and
evidence to every reflecting mind
that believes the Bible that the
Gentiles will have an opportunity,
until that message is delivered and
the prediction concerning it ful-
filled. When that is done the law is
bound, the testimony is sealed, so far
as they are concerned.
When the Almighty, in the present
century, sent forth an angel from
heaven, as we heard this forenoon,
and restored the Gospel and the-
authority and power to preach it and
administer its ordinances, and or-
ganized this Church on the earth, and
sent forth his servauts to all nations
so far as they would open their doors
to receive them, they were fulfilling
the commands of the Most High given
by the angel* We have been forty
years, since the angel came, fulfilling
that prediction ; how many more 1
years the Lord may bear with the
nations and kingdoms of the Gentiles
before they are cut off 1 do not know*
How many more years will pass over
our heads that we will have the
privilege of declaring the fullness of
the everlasting Gospel among the
nations of the Gentiles is not revealed.
All that we know on the subject is
what the Lord told us some forty
years ago, that the times of the
Gentiles would be fulfilled in the
generation in which he established
his Chorch, that is, that before the
generation living forty years ago have
all passed away the times of the
Gentiles will be fulfilled. And what
then ? The prediction of Isaiah, in
another place, will be literally ful-
filled— the ** law will be bound up
and the testimony sealed " so far as
sending the Gospel to the Gentile
nations is concerned.
What will be the next work to be
performed ? The Jews will then
come in remembrance before the Lord.
That is, the set time for their deliver-
ance and restoration will have come,
the period predicted by the mouth of
the ancient prophet in which the
Gospel shall be proclaimed to them.
In testimony of this let me refer you
to the eleventh chapter of Romans,
in which the Apostle Paul has touched
upon this subject very plainly. We
will read a few passages, commencing
at the 13th verse :
** For I speak to you Gentiles,
inasmuch as I am the Apostle of the
Gentiles, I magnify mine office.
"If by any means I may provoke
to emulation them which ore my
flesh, and might save some of them.'*
Again he says, speaking of Israel —
" And if some of the branches be
broken off, and thou, being a wild
olive tree, wert grafted in among
them, and with them partakest of
the root and fatness of the olive tree;
u Boast not against the branches.
But if thou boast, thou bedrest not
the root, but the root thee.
" Thou wilt say then, the branches
were broken off that I might be
grafted in."
Thus the kingdom was taken from
Israel and given to them (the Gentiles)
THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS, ETC.
and thev brought forth the fruits of ii.
Says Paul again —
" Well, because of unbelief they !
were broken off, and thou standest by
faith* Be not high minded, but fear;
** For if God spared not the natural
branches, take heed lest he also spare
not thee — *
A great warning to the Gentiles —
the house of Israel — the branches of
the tame olive tree were broken off
because they ceased to bring forth
the fruits of the kingdom of God.
As much as to say, Because they
ceased to bring forth the fruit that
pertains to the tame olive tree, they
were broken off through unbelief,
therefore you Gentiles, who are now
grafted in, being branches of the wild
olive tree, take heed and beware lest
you fall after the same example of
unbelief. If thou standest by faith,
boast not against the branches, etc,
Paul says —
"Behold therefore the goodness
and severity of God ; on them which
fell, severity; but toward thee, good-
ness, if thou continue in his goodness
—otherwise thou shalt be cut off."
Now, here is a definite prediction :
if ye continue in his goodness, the
goodness of God will be extended to
you, though you are Gentiles, though
you are grafted, contrary to nature,
into the tame olive tree, but if you do
not continue in his goodness, if you
lose your faith, as the house of Israel
lost it; if you cease to bring forth,
the fruits of the kingdom, as they
have done, you also shall be cut off
And they also; that is, the Jews, if
they abide not in unbelief, shall be
grafted in, for God is able to graft
thera in again ; but if they were cut
out of an olive tree, wild by nature,
and were grafted, contrary to nature, j
into a good olive tree, how much
more shall those which be the natural
branches (meaning the scattered
Jews), be grafted into their own olive
tree ? For I would not, brethren,
that you should be ignorant of this
mystery, lest yfe be wise in your own
conceits, that blindness in part has
happened to Israel until the fullness
□f the Gentiles be come in —
i " And so all Israel shall be saved ;
as it is written, There shall come out
of Zion a Deliverer, and shall turn
away ungodliness from Jacob-"
You see, the Lord has a blessing in
store for Jacob — the literal seed of
Israel; but we cannot go to them
until the Gentile fullness has come in,
until their times are fulfilled, then all
Israel will be saved, by a Deliverer
sent out of Zion ; in other words,
there will be a Zion again on the
earth. The earth has been destitute
of a Zion for about sixteen centuries.
No Church of God, no prophets, no
inspired Apostles, no voice of God
from the heavens, no ministration of
angels ; none of the ancient powers
and gifts, all the fruits of the kingdom
of God tfaat existed in the first century
of the Christian era banished from
among the Gentile nations, and the
cry among them all is, u That the
power of godliness, as manifested in
the first century of the Christian era,
is :io longer necessary." They have
a form of godliness without the power
thereof. The power then manifested,
suy they, is not to be enjoyed by the
people of our day find age.
Having, then, lost their faith and
ceased to bring forth the fruits of the
kingdom, the prediction has gone
forth that they also shall be cut off..
But when ? Not until the Lord sends
that angel from heaven with the
everlasting Gospel, and sends forth
his servants by Divine authority to
preach the Gospel to all the nations
and kingdoms of the Gentiles. When
that has been done it brings condem-
nation wherever the sound of it goes
and the people reject it. But a few
will receive it; a few will gather
64
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES
together and tbey will boild up Zion,
and out of that Zion will corae a
Deliverer who will turn away ungodli-
ness from Jacob,
Who will be that Deli vercr^? Cer-
tainly Jesus, when he came eighteen
centuries ago, did not turn away
ungodliness from Jacob, for they then
were filling up their cup with iniquity.
They have remained in unbelief from
that day to this ; hence, there did not
come a Deliverer out of Zi >n eighteen
centuries ago. But the Zion of the
last days, that Zion that is so fre-
quently and so fully spoken of by the
ancient prophets, especially by Isaiah,
is the Church and kingdom of God ;
and out of that Churcbdr* kingdom
or Zion is to come aTJeliverer, who
will turn away ungodliness from
Ja£ob (rt'fer the times of the Gentiles
are fulfilled.
Paul farther says —
" As concerning the Gospel, they
are enemies for your sakes ; but as
' touching the election, tbey are beloved
fbr# the father's sakes/' I
t Again he says, in the 30th verse —
" For as ye, in times past, believed
not God, yet have now obtained
mercy through their unbelief; even
so have these," meaning Israel, " also
now not believed, that through your
mercy they also may obtain mercy/* ]
This shows that the proclamation
which goes to Israel must come
through the Gentile nations; that is,
through those whom God may select
among the Gentiles, that through the
mercy and kindness of the Gentiles,
or those who receive the message in
the latter days, the house of Israel
may be saved. j
This is what the Lord has in store
for his servants* You young men
who sit here on these seats will live
to see the times of the Gentiles ful-
filled,; you will live to see the time
when the Lord will give you a direct
* command from on high to no more
go into the cities of the Gentiles to
preach unto them, the law having
been bound, the testimony sealed;
and the mission which you will re-
ceive, young men, will be to go to
the scattered remnants of the house
of Israel among all the nations and
kingdoms of the Gentiles. To search
them out and proclaim to them the
message restored by the angel, that
it may be preached to Israel as well
as to the Gentiles. That is your
destiny ; that, young men, is what
the Lord will require at your hands.
We have labored, in the midst of
persecution, for forty years past in
trying to establish Zion among the
Gentiles. . ,
Will the Gentiles be entirely cut
ofi? Oh nox there will be a great
many, even when Israel are gathering,
who will come along and say, " Let
us be numbered with Israel, and be
made partakers of the same blessings ,
with then) ; let us enter into the same
covenant and be gathered with them
and with the people of God." Though
the testimony is bound^ and though
the law is sealed up, yet there will be
an opening for you to come in. But
you will have to come of youi own
accord, there will be no message sent
to you, no ministration of the servants
o! God expressly directed to you.
When the timet of the Gentiles are
filled, through the mercy of the
t elieving Gentiles, the house of Israel
must obtain mercy ; that is, through
the messengers that will then go forth
and fulfill the first verses of my text —
M Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people^
saith your God."
Individuals are now sitting in this
Tabernacle who will carry this mes- *
sage* The young among as will go
forth to the ends of the earth and
declare to the scattered remnants of
Israel, wherever found, the comforting
words that, M The times of the Gen-
tiles are fulfilled, that the day is come
V
- ^
THE RESTORATION
OF THE JEWS, ETC.
for the covenant which God made
with the ancient fathers of Israel to
be fal filled ;" and you will have the
pip isi re of gathering them up by
thousands, tens of thousands, and
hand reds of thousands, from the
islands of the sea and from all quar-
ters of the earth ; for that will he a
day of power far more th in it is
while the Gospel continues among
the Gen Hies.
44 But," inquires one, "have yon
any testimony from the Scriptures
to pro^e that that day will be a day of
power ?" Hear what the Lord s*ys
by the month of Hie Psalmist Divid,
" Thy people shall be willing in the
day of thy power." They are not
willing how and have not been williig
for eighteen centuries past. Bat
when the day of his power comes
they will be willing to hearken, they
will gather up to their promised land,
for it will be the day of the Lord's
power. In what respect will there
be power manifested then ? As power
was manifested when the Lord
brought Israel from the Egyptian
nation into the wilderness of Sinai
and spoke to them by his own voice,
so will the p )wer of Almighty God
be made manifest among all the
nations of the earth when he brings
about the redemption and restoration
of his people Israel ; or, in other
words, the former display of power
will be eclipsed, for that which was
done in one land, among the Israelites
and Egyptians in the wilderness, will
be performed among all nations. So
says the prophet Let us quote
prophecy to show what the day of
the Lord's power means, when the
people of Israel will be willing. The
first to which I will call your atten-
tion will be found recorded in the
20th chapter of Eaekiel, commencing
at the ii^frd verse —
44 As I live, satth the Lord God,
surely with a mighty hand, and with
No. 5. m
a stretched oat arm, and with fxxrf
poored oat, will I rale over yoa :
" And I will bring you oat from
the people, and will gather you out of
the countries wherein ye are scattered,
with a mighty hand, and with a
stretched out arm, and with fury
poured oat.
wAnd I will bring yon into the
wilderness of the people, and there
will I plead with yoa face to face.
4* Like as I pleaded with your
fathers in the wilderness of the land
of Egypt, s^> will I plead with yoa,
saith the Lord God."
Thi* will be when the times of the
Gentiles are fulfilled, and you Eldcrtf
of Zion are sent to the house of Israel;
You will go in the Lord's power, and
so groat will be that power that yorf
will have influence over them. Yoa
will tell them that their war fire ij
accomplished, that their iniquity is
pardoned, ,md that they have received
at the Lord's hand double for all theifr
sin ; nnd the L >rd will bear witness
of this by his mighty power, with a
mighty hand and an outstretched
arm will the Lord do this, and with
fary poured out. Poured out upon
whom ? Upon all the nations and
kingdoms of the Gentiles who will
not receive the troth, their time*
being fulfilled. It will be expressly
the day of the Lord's judgment, or,
in other words, the hour of the Lord's
judgment, that is spoken of in tlie
14th chapter of Revelations, when
the angel brings the Gospel,
pit is not only a Gospel to be
preached to all the nations of the
earth, but in connection with it you
will have to make proclamation con.
nected with it, to all people, to fear
God and give glory to him, for the
hour of his judgment is come. And
ae these judgments come, kingdom?
and thrones will be cast down and
overturned. Empire will war with
empire, kingdom with kingdom, and
Vol. XIV.
Ciiy with city* and there will be one
general revolution throughout the
earth, the Jpws fleeing- to their own
Country, desolation coming upon (lie
wicked, with the swiftness of whirl-
winds and fury poured out, recollect,
as it was poured one on the Egyptians.
Let us read the 35r.fi verse — ■ i
"And I will brt >er you info the
wilderness of the people, and there
Fill I plead wtlh you face to face.**
M No more miracles/' say this
Christian generation ■ " no more
power to be made manifest ; we have
a form of godliness but we don't need
lh is display ol power," This is their
Cry, with ail these prophecies staring
them in the face.
** I will bring you into the wilder-
ness,"
Bring whom ? The house of Israel
wbich are gathered from all these
nations nations. " I will brins? yon
into the wilderness, and there I will
plead with you face to face as I plead
with your fathers in the wilderness5,
5n the lawd of E^rypt." How did he
plead with them there? He plead
with them by his power, by sp fen did
miracles, by bis own voice he caused
Mount Sinai to tremble under the
Bound and power of his voice, while
lightnings and thunders were made
manifest before lJA the congregation
of Israel He spoke to them by the
Toice of a trumpet which, when the
twenty- five bur. tired thousand of the
liosfs of Israel heard, they Bed, and
stood afar off — they were afraid and j
fearful, because the Lord had de-
scended upon Mount Sinai. So will
lie plead with Israel in the latter
days, and show forth bis mighty hand
and power, when he gathers them
from the nations; and he will give
revelation as he did to their fathers
in the wilderness of the land of
Egjpt
But as a still further testimony of
the power that will be made manifest
in the restitution of Israel, let me
refer you to another passage, which
is contained in the 1Kb chapter of
Isaiah, " He shall set up an ensign
! for the nations, and shall assemble
the outcasts of Israel, and gather
together the dispersed of Ju^ah.
from the four corners of the earth."
Here is a declaration that the two
yieat kingdoms of Israel — its*' out-
casts," the ten tribes, scattered
seven hundred and twenty years
'hefore Christ, and the " dispersed of
Judah," dispersed among all nations,
shall be gathered. But before he
gathers them he will set up an ensign
— an ensign is to be raised in the
latter-day ft especially for the gathering
of Israel.
Again, says the Prophet, " And
the Lotd shall utterly destroy the
tongue of the Egyptian sea," How ?
"With his mighty power shall he
shake his hand over the river and
shall smite it in (lie seven streams
rind make men go over dry shod.
And there shall he an highway for
the remnant of his people which shall
be left from Assyria like as it was to
Israel in the day that he came up out
of the land of Egypt," The same
thing, not a spiiitual, hut a literal
transaction, as (he Lord smote the
tongue ot the Egypt ian sea in ancient
! days, and caused his people to go
through on a highway in the midst
of those mighty waters which stood
like walls on each side of the assembly
of Israel. So in the latter days he
will not only cut ofl the tongue of
the Egyptian sea, but the river in its
seven streams will also be divided
and men will go through dryshod.
This is the testimony of the prophets
I concerning the events that are to
take place when the times of the
Gentiles are fulfilled.
. But in regard to this ensign, the
Lord has never said that he will lift
it up before the time comes to gather
THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS, ETC. 67
Israel* And now let us inquire where
will it be lifted up; in what partW>f
the earth will he commence the great
work ? He must begin it among the
-Gen tiles, as I have a I rend y saw, and
as Isaiah tells us in the 49th chapter
— a standard or ensign, to which the
people will gather, will be reared
among the Gentiles. Recollect this
is something to be commenced among
the Gentiles, not among1 the Jewish
nation, not away yonder in Palestine
or Jerusalem. " Thus saith the L >rd
God, behold I will lift up mine hand
to the Gentiles and set up my standard
to the people" — the same ensign that
Isaiah speaks of in the eleventh chap-
ter— for a standard and an ensign
are synonymous terms.
Now, notice what f. illows, as soon
as this standard is raised among the
Gentiles, " They shall brim; thy
sons in their arms, and thy daughters
shall he carried on their shoulders;'*
that i,s, those who receive that
standard, or who embrace the work
and gather to the standard, "shall
bring thy sons in their arms and thy
daughters on their shoulders." Will
the kings of the earth help on this
work ? Yes, for the prophet says,
44 And kings shall be their nursing
fathers and" their queens thy nursing
mothers," What more ahnnt the
Gentiles? a And they shall bow
down to thee with their face toward
the earth, and lick up the dust of
thy feet*1 Israel is to be honored :
the Lord will require even the kings
of the Gentiles — rheir great men,
lords, nobles and rulers to bow down
and lick np the dust of their feet, fur
he intends to make Israel the bead
and not the tail?
To show still mote fully the place
where this imsign or standard is to
be raised, let me refer you to the
18th chapter of Isaiah, wherein you
will Bnd these words, " Woe to the
land shadowing with wings, which is
bejond the rivers of Ethiopia." la
the 3rd verse of that chapter, after
uttering the prediction concerning
the judgment to come upon that land
bpynnd the rivers of Ethiopia from
Palestine — a land that has the ap-
pearance of shadowing with wings,
like North and South America, the
prophet says, " All ye inhabitants of
the world and dwellers on the earth,
see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign
on the mountains, and when he
bloweth with a trumpet, hear ye" —
something that the Lord consi lerjd
worthy of the attention of all the
people of the earthy It was not to
be sounded to one nation alone, not
a work like that of ancient d-ivs — to
be done among the Egyptian nation
alone, but "all ye inhabitants or the
world and dwellers on the earth, see
ye, when he lifts np an ensign on the
mountains, and when he bloweth a
trumpet, hear ye."
Now Webster and other lexico-
graphers in their definitions of the
word u standard " say it is something
to which the people rally and around
which they gather, as you Latter-day
Saints have rallied to these mountains
from all the various nations and
kingdoms of Europe; from Australia,
Southern Africa, Hindostau and other
parts of the earth. Here the " stan-
dard" has been lifted up, the u ensign"
has been raised; the angel has come,
the voice of inspiration is again
heard ; the Church of the 1 ving God
is again reared ; Zion is rising in the
earth ; the times of the Gentiles will
soon be fulfilled, and when that epoch
arrives all the inhabitants of the
earth will be required to see, under-
stand and listen to that which God
is doing in the midst of the mountains.
He is raising up a people there that
are called his Church, his kingdom,
that never is to be destroyed, but is
to continue for ever.
This agrees with the testimony of
68
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
the Prophet Daniel. In his second
chapter we are informed that Nebu*
chadnezzar, the king, had a dream in
which it was revealed to him con-
cerning the kingdoms tf this world,
down to the latter days. Daniel
came forth before the king, related
the dream and gave the interpretation
thereof. Said he — I
" Thou, 0 king, sawest, and beheld
a great image. This great image,
whose brightness was excellent, stood
before thee ; and the lorm thereof
was terrible.
"This image's head was of fine
gold, his breast and his arms of silver,
his belly and his thighs of brass.
" His legs of iron, his feet part of
iron and part of clay.
*' Thou saw est till that a stone was
cat out without hands, which smote
the image upon his feet that were of
iron and clay and brake them to pieces.
<fc Then was the iron, the clay, the
brass, the silver, and the gold broken
to pieces together, and became like
the chaff of the summer threshing-
floors ; and the wind carried them
away, that no place was found for
them ; and the stone that smote the
image became a great mountain, and
filled the whole earth."
The mountain referred to by Daniel
is the place where the standard is to
be raised and the ensign . is to be
reared ; the same place whence the
proclamation was to go to all the
dwellers on the face of the earth
requiring them to listen to the same,
and to see the stone that was cut out
of the mountains that was eventually
to fil1 the whole earth; while the
great image representing all human
governments was to t>ecome like the
chaff of the summer threshing floor,.
Are there any statesmen in this
congregation, among the strangers
who are visiting in our midst, who
are desirous to know the future
destiny of the nations, kingdoms and
governments of our globe ? Read
the prophecies; there you will find
portrayed the destiny of all govern-
ments organized by human wisdom ;
they are to become like the chaff of
the summer threshing floor — the wind
is to carry them away, and no place
is to be found for them, from the
head of gold to the feet and toes of
iron and clay, all are to be broken to
pieces together. And what is to
remain in their ste ad ? A stone cut
out of the mountains without hands
— little in its beginning, insignificant
in the estimation ot the great and
powerful kingdoms of the world ; but
it is to roll forth, become a great
mountain and fill the whole earth
and to continue for ever. Hear what
the prophet has said —
" And in the days of these kings
shall the God of heaven set up a
kingdom, which shall never be de-
si royed ; and the kingdom shall not
be left to other people, br.t it shall
break in pieces and consume all these
kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever/'
The kingdom that was set u|>
eighteen hundred years ago by our
Savior and his Apostles was destroyed
cat of the earth in fulfillment of the
prophecies of Daniel and John the
Revelator. They said that the powers
of the world would make war with
that kingdom and overcome it. That
has been fulfilled to the very letter-
The kingdom of God, with its in-
spired prophets and Apostles, was
rooted out of the earth, also the
Priesthood with all its powers ; and
instead thereof churches, creeds and
governments have been reared and
built up by human wisdom; but the
kingdom of God that "is to be estab-
lished in these last days, instead of
being overcome and destroyed out of
the earth, is to stand for ever; it was
not to be delivered to another people,
that is, it is never to change hands>
but once established, once organized
THE RESTORATION
OF THE JEWS, ETC.
09
on the earth, it is to contioue from
that time henceforth and for ever,
while the kingdoms of this world will
vanish away like the dream of a night
vision.
Now we begin to understand the
latter part of our test. Not only is
Israel to he saved ; but " prepare ye
the way of the Lord, make straight
in the desert an highway for our
God/' What do we want with an
highway in the desert? We hare
already read about the highway
through the Red Seat and through
the seven streams of the river of
Egypt that is to be cast up like it
was in ancient days; but what need
have we for a highway in the desert ?
It is for the ransomed of the Lord to
pass over. What ransomed of the
Lord ? Those who are ransomed
from among the nations, by the
proclamation of the everlasting Gos-
pel, those who listen to the augelic
message that comes from heaven ;
they who have toiled with ox teams,
mule teams and hand carts and wheel-
barrows to get themselves here, to
lay a foundation of the work of God
in the midst of this desert. They
need a highway here, that the balance
who are to come hereafter, and they
will come by hundreds of thousands,
may come swiftly, and more speedily
than by handcart conveyances. And
this pots me in nvicd of another
passage in regard to the highway
connected with the proclamation of
the Gospel to all the world,
Isaiah says, " Cast up, cast up an
highway, gather out the stones, lift
np a standard for the people, prepare
ye the way of the people, for behold
the Lord hath proclaimed unto the
ends of the world, say ye to the
daughter of Zion, behold thy salva-
tion cometh ; behold his reward is
with him and his work is before him.
They shall call them a holy pejple,
the redeemed of the Lord ; and they
shall be called, sought out, city not
forsaken," What a curious work to
take place in the latter days! A
highway to be made, and the stones
to be gathered out ! When these
men, sitting here on these seats, were
working out in thesel rugged moun-
tains for some two or three hundred
miles fulfilling these prophecies, did
you blast out the rocks and gather
out the stones ?
Another thing connected with the
prophecy says, '* Go through, go
through the gates; cast up an high-
way," eta I have no doubt that the
prophet saw the construction of this
highway in vision, in fact he must
have seen it or he could not have
predicted it to such a nicety* He
must also have se n these trains
crossing this great continent, "dodg-
ing" into what seemed to be holes
in the mountains, and after watching
a little while see them come out at
the opposite side- He did not call
them runnels in those days, but said,
" Go through the gates," etc.
In order to show how swiftly the
people would come on this highway
in the latter days let me refer you to
the 5th chapter of Isaiah and the
26th verse, " He will lift up his
ensign to the nations from afar, and
will hiss unto them from the ends of
the earth ; and behold they shall
come with speed swiftly," Not with
handcarts and ox teams as we did for
many years; but they are to come
from the ends of the earth swiftly.
But he tells us that an ensign is to
be lifted up. All these predictions
centre in one : The standard, the
ensign, the proclamation, the casting
up of the highway, and the coming
with speed swiftly, all concentrate,
as it were, into one, to fulfil the great
purposes of Jehovah in the latter days.
" Lift up an ensign to the nations
from afar r Where was Isaiah when
he delivered this prophecy ? In
70 JOURNAL OF
Palestine. Do you think you could !
get much further from Palestine and
have an ensign rinsed up from afar ?
It is not an ensign that is to be laised
up in the land of Palestine, right
where the prophet predicted it; but
he w*w from afar, from a great dis-
tance, the great woik God would
perform in the latter day. u Lift up j
an ensign for the nations;" not fur
one i mi ion, not lor a few people j but
it was a work that was general in jta
nature — an ensign or standard the
raising of which was to affect all the
inhabitants of the earth. And when
this is accomplished an highway was
to lie built and be made straight in
the desert — an highway for our God.
Why ? Because, says our text, the
DISCOURSES.
glory of the Lord was to be revealed
and all flesh was to see it together.
This does not refer to the first coming
of the Messiah, but to that great
advent spoken of by ail the prophets
when he shall cerne in his glory and
I power, v. hen the mountains and hills
that are on the east, west, north and
south of this valley will be leveled ;
when the crooked places shall be
made straight, end the rough places
plain ; and when the glory of the
Lord will be levealed; and, instead
of a few seeing it^ as they did in
ancient time?, "all flesh will see it
together;" for every eye shall see
him when he comes in his glory and
power to reign as King of kings and
Lord of lords. Amen.
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT BRIG HAM YOUNG
JJELIVEEED IN THE TaBEKKACLE, OgDEN ClTY, JULY 10, 1870.
(Reported by David W. Evans,)
SIX— THE ATONEMENT— GOOD AND EVIL — THE KINGDOM OF GOD-
I am disposed to ask a few ques-
tions of this congregation, though
not expecting them to give audible
answtrf , Judging from what 1 know
and understand of the Latter-day
Saints, I can answer these questions
satisfactorily to myself, and probably
to the satisfaction of most of the
people.
Do we believe in the Scriptures of
Divine truth r — these which are con*
taint d in the Old and New Testa-
ments, in the Book ot Mormon, the
Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and
other revelations that have been given
to this people ? I can answer this in
the affirmative, by saying that we
certainly do. This h nds my mind to
the reflection that if we believe the
Scriptures and the revelations I have
refer led to, we also believe that Jesus
is the Christ; and believing the
Scriptures and that Jesus is the
Christ, we must belk-ve other things
also. If the Scriptures are true, it
proves that sin is in the world, and
the question arises, Is it necessary
that sin should be here ? What will
the Latter-day Saints say? Is it
necessary ihat we should know good
SIN — THE ATONEMENT, ETC
71
from evil ? I can answer this to snit
myself by saying it is absolutely
necessary, fur the simple reason that
if we had never realized darkness we
never could have comprehended the
light; if we never tasted anything
bitter, bat were to eat sweets, the
honey and the honeycomb, from the
time we come into this world until
the time we go oat of it, what know*
ledge could we have of the bitter ?
This leads me to the decision that
every fact 1 hat exists in this world is
demonstrated by its opposite. It this
is the fact — and all true philosophy
proves it — it leads me to the a inclu-
sion that the transgression of our tirst
parents was absolutely necessary, that
we might be brought in contact with
sin and have the opportunity of
knowing good and evil, it may he
deemed strange and singular by the
Christian world that we should believe
such a thing; but the Scriptures
inform us, in Genesis iii>» 22 f that
the Lord Gud said, ** Behold, the man
has become as one of us, to know
good arid evil." Are we the sons and
daughters of that God whom we
serve ? We answer we are. Do we
expect to be exalted with our Father
in heaven ? We do. How are we
to be exalted ? We have sinned and
transgressed the law ol Gud. The
Christian world and the world of
mankind have not only transgressed
the laws of God, bat they have
changed the ordinances and broken
every covenant that God hns given
the ui. Tli en 1 ask, Is there a debt
contracted between the Fattier and
his children ? There is. Our tirst
parents transgressed the law that was
given them in the garden; their eyes
were opened. This created the debt.
What is the nature of this debt V It
is a divine debt. What will pay it?
I ask, Is there any thing short of a
divine sacrifice that can pay this debt ?
No ; there is not
I say this to gratify myself, and to
gratify my brethren and sisters. A
divine debt has been contracted by
the children, and tbe Father demands
recompense. Ho says to his children
on this earth, who are in sin and
transgression, it is impossible for yoa
to pay this debt; I have prepared a
sacrifice; I will send my Only
Begotten Son to pay this divine debt.
Whs it necessary thin that Jesus
nhould die? Do we understand why
he should sScritice his life? The
idea that the Son of bod, who nevetf
committed sin, should sacrifice his
lile, is 11 n questionably preposterous to
the minds of many in the Christian
world. l3ut the iiiet exists that the
Father, the Divine Father, whom we
serve, the Gud of the Universe, the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and the Father of our spirit^
provided this sacrifice and sent hid
iSun to die tor us ; find it is also a
great fact that the £qu came to do
t tie will of the Father, and that he
has paid tiie debt, in fnltil merit ot the
Scripture which says, " He was the
Lamb slain from tho foundation of
the world.15 Is it t j on any othetf
earth V On every era tlu How many
earths ate there ? 1 observed this
morning that you may take the
particles of matter composing this
earth, and if they could be enumerated
they would only be a begiuning to
the number of th? cieutions of God}
and they are continur.hy coming into
existence, and undergoing changed
and passing through the same expe-
rience that we are prising through*
Sm is upon every earth that ever wad
created, and if it was not so, I would
like tome philosophers t>> let us know
how people can be exalted to become
sons of Gud, and enjoy a fulness of
giory with the Redeemer, Conse-
quently every earth lias its redeemerf
aud every earth has its tempter; and
every earth, and the people thereof,
JOUHNAL OF
in their turn and time, receive all
that we receive* and pass through all
the ordeals that we are passing
tb i onght
i Is this easy to understand ? It is
perfectly easy to me; and my advice
to tho**e who have queries and doubts
pn this subject is, when they reason
and philosophize upon it, not to plant
their position in falsehood or argue
by pot helically, but upon the facts as
they exist, and they will come to the
conclusion that unless God provides
4 Savior tp pay this debt it can never
)be paid, LCan all the wisdom of the
world devise means by which we can
be redeemed, and return to the
presence of our Father and elder
brother, and dwell with holy angels
and celestial beings? No; it is
beyond the power and wisdom of the
inhabitants of the earth that now
Jive, or that ever did or ever will live,
%o prepare or create a sacrifice that
F ill pay this divine debt. But God
provided it, and bis Son lias p;iid it,
and we, each and every one, can now I
receive the truth and be saved in t lie
kingdom of God. Is it, clear and
plain ? It is to me, and if you
have the Spirit of God, it is as plain
to you as anything else in the world.
Why are you baptized for the remis-
sion of sins? Is there virtue in it?
There is, Why do we lay hands on
the sick ? Is there virtue in doing
so ? There is, and the w icked world
as well as the Saints prove this.
JBince Joseph Smith received revela^
lations from God, Spiritualism has
taken its rise, and has spread with
unprecedented rapidity ; and they will
lay hands on each other — one system ■
proving another — spiritualism demon-
strating the reality of animal magnet-
ism ? Is there virtue in one person
more than another? Power in one
in ore than another ? Spirit in one
more than another ? Yes, there is,
I will tell you how much 1 have.
DISCOURSES.
You may assemble together every
! spiritualist on the face of the earth,
and 1 will defy them to make a table
move or get a communication from
hell or any other place while I am
I present Yes, there is more spirit in
some "than in others ; and this power
— called by the world animal mag-
netism— enables those possessing it to
put others into the mesmeric sleep.
When I lay hands on ihe siuk, I
expect the healing power and influence
of God to pass through me to the
patient, and the disease to give way.
I do not say that I heal every budy I
lay hands on; but many have been
healed under my administration,
Jesus said, on one occasion, " Who
lias touched me?" A woman had
crept up behind him in the crowd,
and touched the hem of his garment,
and he knew it, because virtue lnd
gone from him. Do you see the
reason and propriety of laying hands
on each other? When we are pre-
pared, when we are holy vessels
before the Lord, a stream of power
from the Almighty can pass through,
the tabernacle of the administrator to
the system of 1 be patient, and the sick
are made whole; the headache, fever
or other disease has to give way. My
brethren and sisters, there is virtue
in us if we will do right ; if we live
our religion wre are the temples of
God wherein he will dwell ; if we
defile ourselves, these temples God
will destroy.
We shall now sing and dismiss the
meeting. We do hope and pray you
Latter day Saints to live according
to your test knowledge ; and we pray
God, our Heavenly Father, in the
name of Jesus, to give you faith,
grace and fortitude to do so ; and his
Spirit, that you may be able to see
the glory of his kingdom, and- then
compare it with the kingdoms of this
woild. What is the glory of this
world ? Just gather it all together,
4
»■
THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS THE HOPE OF THE WORLD, ETC,
73
and it is nothing but a shadow! All
the kings and potentates on the earth,
with all their power, pomp, great ness
and grandeur, will pasa into obliviun
— they will pass completely from the
remembrance of the children of men ;
they were, but are not* This is the
glory of the world ; but the glory of
the kingdom of God was, is, and for
ever will be !
The Lord bless you. Amen.
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG,
Delivered in the Tabernacle,. Salt Lake City, August 7, 1870.
(Reported by David W* Evans.)
THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS THE HOPE OF THE WOK LI > — JESUS MUST BE
< ACKNOWLEDGED — ONE-MAN FOWER— TRUTH AND ERROR,
celestial kingdom of God, this is
verily true.
The few observations that we have
heard this morning are rich, and
many of them full of divine matter,
and especially with regard to the
Christian world. This book, that we
cull the Bible, the Christian world
profess to believe in* Let me tell
them that they must either acknow-
ledge, openly and frankly, that the
Latter-day Saints have the Gospel
taught by Christ and his Apostles or
they will go to the wall as infidels;
it cannot be otherwise. There are
but two parties on the earth, one for
God and the other for the world or
the evil one. No matter how many
names the Christijm or heathen world
bear, or how many sects and creeds
may exist, there are but two parties,
one for heaven and God, and the
other will go to some other kingdom
than the celestial kingdom of God,
Our brethren go forth in weakness;
and our Elders have traversed the
earth, and have offered the Gospel
' It may appenr strange to Jew and
Gentile, to Saint and sinner, to high
and low, to bond and free, hut with
all our weaknesses and imperfections
we/ the Latter-day Saints, are the
hope of the whole world. ? Our brother
who has just spoken "says there is
something to be done, and I say that
God has commenced to do it u| on
this continent. The Lord has revealed
his will from the heavens; he has
bestowed his Priesthood on the child-
ren of men; he has sent forth his
holy angels with the Gospel to pro-
chum, and this Gospel has been
proclaimed to the children of men,
and a few have received it ; and
strange as it may sound to the ears,
and inconsistent as it may be to the
hearts, sympathies, judgments or
feelings of the Christian or ot the
heathen world, without us they cannot
be saved ; with all our weaknesses
and imperfections, and as far short as
we may come of the perfection that
we understand and which is necessary
to possess before we can enjoy the
74
JOURNAL OF DISCO
unto every nation that would open its
doors to receive it A lew from
various nations* have obeyed it and
have gathered themselves together;
but of this number few live strictly
according to the words revealed for
the guidance of the Saints. The
Gospel of the Son of God is the only
tiling that will do the people gcod.
It is all happiness, submission, kind-
ness and love; it is glory to God in
the highest, and good will to man on
the earth . But even if we had not
the Holy Ghost within us, look at the
morals that are taught in this Book,
say nothing about the divinity of the
doctrine of the Son of God ; take it
morally, is it not the best code for
people to live by ever portrayed or
placed on paper ? We say it is ; and
we may look at it in any light we
please*
When the Elders of Israel go forth
to preach the Gospel to the inhabitants
of the earth, though it may be done
in weakness and with a stammering
tongue, the Spirit of the Lord attends
the preached word and bears witness
to the honest in heart, and teaches
them that this is the truth. No
matter how many priests, or who
contend against the Gospel and say,
" We do not acknowledge that Je>us
is the Son of God, we believe he was
a philanthropist, or a divine man in
human shape, so far as nature can
make him so, but to acknowledge that
he was the Son of God we cannot fv
it is no matter how many talk like
this, they must eventually either
acknowledge that he is the Son of
God and that his Gospel is the only
Gospel or they must take infidelity*
lathis the fact? It is. Sooner or
later the sects, one after another, will
deny the Savior and every one of the
ordinances of his Gospel, until they
are all enveloped in infidelity, or they
must accept the whole. Strange as
it may appear, they are now following
shadows, phantoms of the brain, and
mischievuus manifestation?.
When the Elders of Israel first
commenced to preach the Gospel
there was no such thing known on
the earth as a belief in spiritual mani-
fest at ions, which are now so general.
I promised them years and years ago,
when 1 commenced my career in the
ministry, that, if they did not accept
the revelations which God had de-
livered to the eh i kit en of men, he
would suffer the enemy of all right-
eousness to give them revelations to
their hearts' content, and they would
receive and believe them, What is
the condition of the Christian world
to-day ? They are seeking after
mischievous muttering spirits; they
are seeking to know something that
is not true, and to establish that
which no true philosophy on earth
will establish. The only true philo-
sophy ever revealed to the children
of men, v\ hether pertaining to religion,
science, art, mechanism, or to any
and every department of human
| knowledge, was re\ealed by God. It
is true that many who do not believe
irs Jesus possess more or less of this
true philosophy which comes from
God, whether they acknowledge it or
not.
One of my brethren who has been
speaking to juu pays it is a mystery
to him to see the people' led as they
are; to see them submit to man-
power, and to iaise creeds and govern-
ments us they do. It is not strange
to me. They must be servants to
some being or principle. There is
not a being on the face of the earth
that is free and independent of God
and his Spirit, or of that mischievous
influence and power that goes through
the earth, seeking whom it may
devour and to lead captive at its will.
Every son and daughter of Adam is
subject to one of these powers; there
are none but what have within them
J
!
THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS THE HOPE OF THE WORLD, ETC. 75
the operations of a spirit of good or
evil.
When we read over the history of
the ancients we can learn that many
of them acted very foolishly ; their
conduct was unbecoming in many
instances. Even Mo*es, great as he
was, and as much of divinity, light
and intelligence as he enjoyed from
the Almighty, lifted himsell up above
ti e Power that conferred upon him
his greatness and influence, and eaid
to the people, u Shall I do this ur
that for you V" instead of saying,
" The Lord will do this or that for
you/' or, lt Shall the Lord do thus
and *>o fur you r" Through his pride
and wlHalmess he was deprived of
the privilege of going into the land ot
Canaan. It is also true that David,
in many tilings, wus very unwise.
W e tire told that he was a. man after
God's own heart, yet he did many
things winch he knew to be wrong
in the sight uf God. Where was he
leir ? in daikness. Then Solomon,
borne to David by Bathsheba, was
also left in the dark, with all his
grt fitness and wisdom ! Alter being
blessed of the Lord to a most wonder-
ful degree, he turned from the Lord,
followed alter strange women and
saciified to idols. Many of the
ant-ients acted unwisely, and 1 hope
and tiust that many of the Elders oi
Israel will do better than some of
them. But it we can do as well as
Some of them, we are mi'e fur honor,
glory, immortality, eternal lives and
exaltation in the kingdom that God
haw prepared tor the righte* us.
\\ lien Brother Spencer was speak-
ing he said, 11 1 believe in oue-rm ri
power." What can we do without it "f
li God does not rule in the midst of
the nations of the earth, sooner or
later those nations will go down. If
the Lord Almighty does not rule in
the hearts ot individuals, families,
neighborhoods, towns, cities, states,
and conn tries, sooner or later they
will fall, 1 ciinnot do without the
Lord Jesus! He is the man for me.
That God who holds the keys of life
and death, and who has suffered and
died for the children of men, is he
who nm^t nilr in the hearts of the
children of obedience, and his king-
dom will stand for ever. The laws
which God has revealed to the children
of men aie as pure and as much
calculated to endure forever to-day aa
they ever were. Why? Because
they are pure and holy, and anything
that is impute must, sooner or later,
perish; no natter whether it is in
the faith and practice of an individual,
town, nation or government. That
kingdom, pi in c i pal i ty f po w er or person
that is not controlled by principles
that are pure and holy must eventually
pass away and perish.
Our brother who last addressed you
said he did not know much about
Scripture. He had a father who read
the i5criptmes in Ins family, and who
taught his children the way of life
and salvation contained theiein. Pro-
fessor Orson Spmcer w as as good a
scrip! orian as could be found on this
continent. He lived faithful to it,
and taught has children to have faith
in the name ot the Lord Jesus. He
was a rare gentleman. Very tew of
the learned or ot those who are high
and lifted up in the estimation of the
people receive the Gospel ; but pro-
fessor Spencer received it. Though
poor, j et he was in high life and high
standing, and he received and obeyed
the Gospel and submitted to the
government God had established.
What is it that enables our Elders
to go forth and preach the Gospel ?
The Spirit g! the Lord. This is their
experience and testimony. What do
they testify when thty go forth?
That the Gospel, as set forth in the
Old and New Testaments, is true;
that the plan of salvation, revealed
76 JOURNAL OF
by God through his prophets in
ancient times, and in modern times
through Joseph Smith, is true ; and
as thry are enlightened and aided by
the Spirit of the Lord, error must fall
before them. I often think what a
task the Elders of Israel would have
to perform if they had to go to the
world and establish a false religion !
They would have to read and study
for years ! They would be compelled
to start at the common school, and
go from there to the academy, and
thence to the college and seminary ;
they must know what every divine,
historian and commentator has said
about every Scripture ; they must also
have language at their tongues' ends
to swamp the, common people with
their fine words, and drown them in
the mist of fog and error. But it is
not sc; with the Elders of Israel ; they
go forth with the plain, simple truth
which God has revealed, and which
commends itself to the conscience and
understanding of every honest and
virtuous individual who hears it. No
matter how simple the declaration of
a servant of God; no matter bow
imperfect his language or how few
his words, the Spirit of God will
bear witness of its truth to the spirits
of those who are ready and willing to
receive it. How easy it is to live by
the truth ! Did you ever think of it,
my friends? Did you ever think of
it, my brethren and sisters ? In
every circumstance of life, no matter
whether among the humble or lofty,
truth is always the surest guide nnd
the easiest to square our lives by.
When the sisters, for instance, meet
together at a quilting or for a visit,
if every one speaks, believes and loves
the truth, and there is nothing in
them that is deceptive, how easy it is
to converse and pass the tin^e! We
all delight in the truth; and if a
wrong, or that which is false, is
manifested it must be corrected or I
i
DISCOURSES.
banished, and truth be adopted in the
place thereof. It is the easiest life to
lead on the face of the parth. How
do I know it ? By experience ; I
never tried the opposite much.
flow easy it is to sustain truth !
How easy it is to sustain the doctrines
of the Savior! If I were to under-
take to prove that baptism is not
necessary for the remission of sins,
what a labour it would impose upon
me! How I would have to study,
and use language so as to throw a
mist over the minds of the people!
Jesus told his disciples to go to all
the world and preach the Gospel to
every creature, saying, " He that
belie veth and is baptized shall be
saved but suppose I were to come
alon^ and say it is not necessary, and
Jesus did not mean what he sjiid,
what a labour it would impose upon
me to deceive the people, by endea-
voring to prove the truth to be false !
Jesus calculated that every individual
should be baptized for the remission
of his sins. How easy it is to preach
that ! If persons believe and be
baptized, Jesus says lay hands upon
them for the reception of the Holy
Ghost ; but if I were to s?iy contrary
to this, a labor would devolve upon
me which 1 should not have to bear
if 1 preached only that which is true.
What a labor it imposes upon the
priests, divines, lawyers and states-
men, and others who hold leading
positions in society, when they aigue
from false premises and undertake to
enforce their false theories! But
simple truth, simplicity, honesty,
upiighlness, justice, mercy, luve,
kindness, do good to all and evil to
none, how easy it is to live by such
principles ! A thousand times easier
than to practice deception !
How I have looked at the meander-
ing paths of politicians! See one
man spend a thousand dollars to get
a small office. Another ten thousand,
J
THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS THE HOPE OF THE WORLD, ETC.
77
another a hundred thousand. In-
trieuing and planning here and there.
What lor ? To deceive somebody or
other ! Why not tell the truth right
out? Would it not be easier? It
would. Politicians would not be
under the necessity of using so many
arguments to make their hearers and
constituents believe that they are the
very men wanted, and that their
opponents are the very men not
waii ted. I was diverted at a gentle-
man in this Territory, fifteen or
sixteen years ago, who put himself
ftp as a candidate for the legislature.^
He went on a tour of what is called
** stump speaking," telling the people
" I am the man yon want ; this other
is the man you do not want; you
may think yon want him but yon do
not, I am the man yon should send
to the legislature, and the one you
should vote for." They could not see
the point and did not vote for him.
His opponent kept quietly attending to
bis business, all he said being, " I am
not. at all anxious for office, and if
the ffeople want me, they may vote
for me."
How many times ha ve I heard men
labor an hour or two to prove that
baptism is not necessary ; when a
close-communion Baptist, with a Bible
in bis h md, would come along and in
five minutes prove that it was neces-
sary. Some Christians will argue
that the taking of the sacrament of
the Lord's Supper is necessary; while
others will argue for hours that it is
unnecessary. But the one who argues
in the affirmative has the Bible — the
words of Jesus to sustain him, and
his opponent, however strenuously he
may labor, cannot substantiate his
position, because his premises are
false, consequently his whole argu-
ment must fall to the ground.
I used to be amused in my youth
at the friend Quakers ; if they had
done nothing for a whole week, from
Monday morning till Saturday night,
they would surely rise from their
beds, if sick, for the sake of working
on the 6rst day of the week — the
Sabbath — to show to mankind that
they were above superstition. They
would declare that the observance of
the Sabbath as a day of rest was all
superstition, all the work of the
Elders, and was unnecessary.
When our Elders go forth to preach
the Gospel, in the power and demon-
stration of the Spirit of God, it com-
mends itself to every heurt ; and, if
the people admit the truth of the
Scriptures, it is by no means difficult
to convince tliera of the truth of the
doctrines that we preach ; but it re-
quires a great deal of the power of
God to induce some to receive it
enough to carry it out practically in
their lives, and to live by every word
that proceeds out of the mouth of
God* Very few do this. Many will
acknowledge that faith, baptism, the
laying on of hands and the Lord's
Supper are according to the law and
the testimony; but pride, the love of
the world, the love of money, and the
love of a good name prevent many
from obeying. A aood name! Bless
me ! what is a name? It may shine
like the noon-day sun in the estima-
tion of friends and neighbors to-day,
and to-morrow be eclipsed in mid-
night darkness, to rise no more!
The glory of the world passes away,
but the glory that the Saints are after
is that which is to come in the
eternal world ; the intelligence, honor
and brightness that come from the
Supreme Being, by which the inhabi-
tants of celestial spheres live without
sorrow and pain.
Joy, comfort, consolation, glory,
happiness, perfection and eternal lives
are before us, with the eternity of
God to spend in the fruition of the
glory of him that sits on the throne,
the Lamb that was slain for us.
#
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
78
Glory, honor, might:, dominion, and
the kingdom for ever and ever If
we submit in all things to him, whose
right it is to re gu king of nations as
he does king of Saints, we shall attain
to this. I do desire that we may be
numbered with this happy company,
and I pray that the Lord will help
us to be so. Amen,
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDE XT BRIGHAM YOUNG,
Delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 9, 1871,
(Reported hj David W. Evans.)
GATHERING THE SAINTS— THE PROVIDENCES OF THE LOUD— USELESSNESS
OF NON-PRODUCERH — ARBITRATION BETTER THAN COURTS — FEED
NOT FIGHT THE INDIANS — PAYING TITHING.
I have a few sermons to preach,
and as the time is short I do not know
that I shall he able to deliver as many
as I wish ta 1 want ymir attention,
and you w:]| have to be quiet I find
that my voire is a little broken, and
it will be pretty hard for me to speak
so that you can hear me. I shall not
try to talk down the crying of children,
the whispering of the congregation,
or the shuffling of feet, as I have often
done, 1 want your attention to the
various subjects I wish to lay before
you ; for I shall have but a few
minutes to speak on eaeh one.
In the first place, I want to say to
the Elders who go forth to preach the
Gospel — do matter who may apply
to you for baptism, even if you have
good reason to believe they are un-
worthy, it they require it forbid them
not, but perform that duty and ad-
minister the ordinance for, them; it
clears the skirts of your ganriM i-t
and the responsibility is upun tbenu]
A few words now with regard to
gathering. I will say that if unworthy
people are gathered iu the future, it
is nothing new or strange, nothing
more than we expect. If this net
does not gather the good and the
bad we should have no idea that it is
the net that Jesus spoke about when
lie said that it should gather of all
kinds. Furthermore, there are a
great many who come into the Church
tecause they know the work is true.
Their judgment, and every reasoning
faculty and power of their minds tells
them it is true; consequently they
embrace the truth. But do I hey
receive the love of it ? That is the
question, I will tell you that very
few of those who receive the love of
the truth, but many of those who fall
away, though they know the Gospel
is true, do not possess the love of the
truth, and they will not apostatize
while scattered. We try to get them
<is i bu in the old country, but thev
will not Bring them over to New
' York and they will not apostatize.
■
* GATHERING THE SAINTS, ETC*
They will labor there year after year,
and straggle and toiHuntil they can
get to the gathering place, they must
come to headquarters, then they can
apostatize, forsake the faith, and tain
Away from the holy command merits
of the Lord Jesus. This is not our
business. Our duty 13 to preach the
Gospel and to receive all that wish to j
have the ordinances administered to ,
them, and leave the result in the
hands of God, This is his work, not
oars. He has called 03 to be co-
laborers with him,
I want to say for the consolation
of the Elders of Israel and those who
go forth to preside, you need hare no-
trouble with regard to the building:
up of this kingdom, only do your
duty in the sphere to which you are
assigned. I think there is more
responsibility on myself than -my
other one m:m on this earth pertaining
to the salvniion of the human family ;
yet my path is a pleasant path to
walk in, my labors are very agreeable,
for I tiike no thought what I shall
.fifty ;l trouble not myself with regard
to my duties- AM I have to do is to |
live, as I have often made the com-
parison, and keep my spirit, feelings
and conscience like a sheet of blank
paper, nnd let the Spirit and power of
Chid write upon it what he pleases.
When lie writes I will read ; but if 1
read before he writes, I am very likely
to be wrpng. If you \\ ill take the
same course yon will 11 tt have the
least trouble.
Brother* Cam fig toil was telling m
about the way in which money turned
up to clear the ship after sending off
more S%tj|ts than he had means to pay
for Was this a miracle any mure
than m;sny other things in our lives
and in the* work of God? No, the
providences of God are all a miracle
to the human family until they
nnderstani them. There are no
miracles only to those who are
79
ignorant. A miracle is supposed to
be a result without a cause, but there
is no such thing. There is a cause
fur every result we see ; and if we see
a result without understanding* the
cause we call it a miracle. This is
what we have been taught; but there
is no miracle to those who undet stand.
Wliile Brother Canington was
speaking about getting twenty pounds,
I thought of a few circumstances
which have transpired lure. I will
refer to one that came along in lcS56.
In that year our agents in England
loaded up the Saints, brought them
over the ocean, up the rivers and
railroads, and fitted them out with
ox reams, wagons, and provisions, and
then sent on their drafts to me, and
within thirty days I had piled upon
me $78,000 that I had to pay. I
never was apprized of any draft being
drawn upon me, or one word sent
from the Liverpool office, until I saw
tire drafts as they commenced to come
in for five, ten, or fifteen thousand
dollars. I did not know where I was
going to get the first dollar; but I
did just as I always d«j — nry duty and
trusted in God. I had not, a draft
protested, and I do not think that
any man went w ithout his pay. But
let me have done the business, I
should have dune it d i [ferentl v. When
[ have the privilege of acring, I act
a little more by works than altogether
by faith, I dure not tru-t my faith
quite so far, but others dare, and they
have not swamped me yet; they have
not fettered my feet s> that L cannot
walk, nor tied my hat ids so that I
j cannot handle, nor my tongue so that
I cannot speak; and the Lord has
delivered me every time with the help
of my brethren.
We do not care any til ing about
these things, they are but iriiles. We
could stand here and talk until to-
morrow morning, telling remarkable
instances of the providences of God
80 JOURNAL OF
towards his servants and people, and
then only have just commenced. Who
pat flour into the barrels here when
we were destitute and had nothing to
eat ? The women would go and
scrape the precious barrel and take
out the last half ounce of meal and
make up a little cake to divide among
the children ; and perhaps the next
time they would go to t he barrel they
would find it half full of flour. Who
put it in ? Their neighbors ? No,
they had none to put in. Was it
from the States? If it was, they
who brought it must have flown
through the air, for they could not
have brought it with ox teams quite
so quickly. But without stopping to
inquire further about how this re-
plenishing of the flour ban els was
effected, I know now, and knew then,
that these elements that we live in
are full of all that we produce from
the earth, air, and water. I told the
people when we settled here that we
had all the facilities here that we
could ask for, all we had to do was
to go to woik and organize the
elements. How far Jesus went to get
the wine that was put into the pots
which we read about in the account
of the marriage at Cana of Galilee I
do not know; but I know that he had
power to call the elements that enter
into the grape into those pots of
water, un perceived by anybody in
the room. He had power to pass
through a congregation unseen by
them ; he had power to step through
a wall and no person be able to see
him ; he had power to walk on the
water, and none of those with whom
he associated could tell how j he had
power to call the elements together
and they were made into bread, but
it was done by invisible hands.
Well, I will change the subject a
little, and I say bo the brethren, do
not be discouraged ; bring on all who
wish to obey the Gospel, that they
i
DISCOURSES. fc
may apostatize. We want them to
apostatize as ^quickly as possible.
How long1 will the people continue to
apostatize ? Until the Master comes.
Whrn he comes the word will go
forth, "fiather my wheat into my
earner, and hind the tares in bundles^
that they may be burned/' The
wheat and the tares will grow together
until harvest, and we cannot help it,
and we need not worrv about it
neither.
We want the brethren and sisters
to feel around and see if they can
find a sixpence, a dollar or five dollars
to help out the poor. Talk about the
people over yonder being hungry,
why I have known them eat not more
than a third of a meal for a whole
week in order to save enough to feed
two or three of us EHers. I was
alwuys ashamed to take it ; and I will
tell you what else I am ashamed of.
Ian ashamed that any man (rilling
himself an Elder of Israel should go
to any country to preach the Gospel
and then commence begging* Such
a course is disgraceful. I have no
fellowship for those who do it; and
those who will borrow and not repay
ought to be cut off the Church. 1
will give yon a little of my experience
when on my English mission. When
I landed in Liverpool I had six bits,
ta and with that I bought me a hat. I
: had worn, on my journey to England,
a little cap that my wife had made
me out of a pair of pantaloons that I
could not wear any longer. We
stayed in Liverpool one year and
sixteen days, and during that time we
baptized between eight and nine
thousand persons, printed five thou-
sand Books of Mormon, three thousand
| hymn books, over sixty thousand
tracts that we gave to the people, and
the Millennial Star; established a
mission in London, Edinburgh, and
I do not know but in a hundred other
places, and we sustained ourselves.
Who was there on that mission, I
mean among the missionaries, that
hart a coat or cloak that I didn't pay
for ? I transacted the business myself,
and we paid every dime. We got
money from the brethren and sisters
and paid them up* Besides doing
this, we fed family after family ; and
I never allowed myself to do down to
the printing office without patting
my hand in the drawer and taking
out as many coppers as I cotild hold,
so that I might throw them to beggars
without being stopped by them on
the road. Did we borrow that which
we did not pay ? No. Did we beg ?
No. The brethren and sisters, and
especially the sisters, would urge us
to come and eat with them. 1 would
try to beg off; but that would not do,
it would hart their feelings, we must
go and eat their food, while they
would starve to procure it I was
always ashamed of this; but I in-
variably had a sixpence to give them*
How much had I given to me ? One
sister, who now liv*s in Pnyson, gave
me a sovereign and a pair of stockings;
and when I came away aiatffer, by
the name of Miller, sent two hats by
me to my little boys. The sisters,
when I 6rst went to Liverpool, made
a little contribution and got me a pair
of pantaloons. I was not in the
habit of begging, but I said to them,
" When my trousers are a little ridi-
culous, I eraess you will know it.
won't you ?" and they gave me a pair
of pant a Ions, otherwise I do not
think 1 received one farthing. I
might have received a shilling or two
from others, but I do not recollect
When we left we sent over a shipload
of the brethren and sisters, a good
many of whose fares we paid. When
I went into Liverpool I do not think
1 could have got trusted a sixpence
if I had gone into every store and
shop in the place. When we came
away a certain Captain wanted to
No, 6.
bring us over, and said he, " Are yoti
ready P" " No," 14 How long must
I wait for you ?" 14 Eight days ;**
and they tied up one of the finest
vessels in the harbor of Liverpool in
order to bring us over. I thought
this was a miracle, don't you ? I ata
sure there are some sisters now hefe
who came with us in that vessel 1
received that as a miracle* It was
the hand of God. Was it our abilitv ?
No. Is it oar ability that has accom-
plished what we see here in building
up a colony in the wilderness ? Is it
the doings of man? No, To be
sure we assist in it, and we do as we
are directed. But God is our Captain ;
he is our master. He ta the " ore r
man" that we serve. In him is our
light, in him is oar life; in him is
our hope, and we serve him with in
undivided heart, or we should do so.
What do you suppose I think whea
I hear people say, 14 0, see what the
Mormons have done in the mountains*
It is Brigham Young, What a head
he has got ! What power he has got !
How well he controls the people!*'
The people are ignorant of onr true
character. It is the Lord that has
done this. It is not any one man or
set of men ; only as we are led and
guided by the spirit of truth. It is
the oneness, wisdom, power, know-
ledge and providences of God ; and
all that we can say ist we are bis
servants and handmaids, and let us
serve him with an undivided heart
Let us gather the poor. Look up
your sixpences, dimes, and dollars.
Jast think what yonr feelings wotfld
be, if your children had to go to bed
to-night cry ing for bread and you had
none to give them! Think of ft,
families, you who profess to be Saints J
Fathers, think of getting up in this
morning and hot a mouthful to feed
your fa ni ties with. I have seen them
totter along, although it was good
i times when I was there to what it
Vol. XIV.
* 82 JOURNAL OF
|
1 fe now, so they say ; but I have seen
ifbem totter aloij; the streets when
, they could hardly stand up, for want.
* 1 Bat I never failed to give such persons
\ sixpence, a shilling, or a penny, when
1 1 1 realized that such was their position
before they pn^ed me- The Lord
* gave it to me and I dealt it out freely,
and am doing so still, and I calculate
to do 80. !
Now, let us help the poor, bring
them here, phco them in good, com-
fortable circumstances, so that they
'« can strut up and my, " I guess I am
. somebody, and I ask no odds of the
i Lord/* 0, fools! When I hear such
expressions, or see such a disposition
manifested, I think, 44 0, foolish Gala-
tians, who hath bewitched you? who
las turned your brain and made yon
believe that yon are independent of
that Being who brought you and all
the human family on the earth ? Who
i las instructed yon to believe that ,
God has nothing to do with us, that
everything that is is by the provi-
dence of chance, or no providence at
* all, and that man is all there is?"
Who has taught the people this?
Hot the wi< e, cot the true philosopher.
Find a true philosopher and you find
one who has the true principles of
Christianity. Hp delights in them ;
and sees and understands the hand
of Providence guiding and directing
2d all the affairs of this life. Though
men are severed far from God, and
though they have hewn opt to them-
selves cisterns, broken cisterns that
will hold no water, the true philo*
\flopher recognises the hand of the
Supreme, gliding and controlling the
I affairs of the children of men.
I have a short discourse to preach
* now to my friends who may be here
j to-day, who lire engaged in, or who
may con template commencing opera-
tions in, the mining business. It is
lie general belief now, that there is
a great deal of mineral wealth in
DISCOURSES*
these mountains. The reports that
have gone abroad concerning this are
causing great excitement j and I will
preach a short discourse now to miners,
merchants, lawyers, doctors, priests,
people, everybody I want to talk to
you a lit tie and give you some counsel ;
and I want the Saints to take this
counsel. But they take it all the
time, and I expect they will continue
to do so. This counsel is with regard
to lawing with one another. I want
to say to you miners : Do not go to
law at all ; it does you no good, and
only wastes your substance* It causes
idleness, waste, wickedness, vice, and
immorality* Do not go to law. You
cannot find a court room withotft a
great number of spectators in it;
what are they doing? Idling away
their time to no profit whatever. As
for lawyers, if they will put their
brains to work and learn how to raise
potatoes, wheat, cattle, build facto ries,
be merchants or tradesmen, it will bo
a great deal better for them than
trying to take the property of others <-x
from them through litigation.
We have got to a state in our ■
nation when thc^e is quite a portion 1
of the young and middle-aged men
who calculate to live, as the say mg is,
by their wits. I would like to have
a man look philosophically into his
own heart, by the spirit of truth, and
examine himself, and see what he is,
what he was made for, and what use
he is on the earth if he never did a
thing to produce a morsel of bread.
Such a man eats the bread of the
laborer, he wears the clothing of the
laborer; every time he lies down on
his bed he lies on that which the
labor of another produced ; he never
took the pains to raise a goose, duck,
lamb, or sheep. He never sheared a
sheep or tried to make cloth of the
wool ; he never took the pains to
plough the ground and sow a little
wheat, to plant a few potatoes, to raise
*
GATHERING THE SAINTS, ETC.
83
a calf, a pig, or a chicken. No, he
never did anything useful ; but still
he eats, drinks, and wears, and lives
in luxury* In the name of common
sense what use is such a man on this
earth? The question may arise,
* Must we not have law ?" We have
plenty of it, and sometimes we have
a little too much. Legislators make
too oifuiy laws ; they make so many
that the people do not know any tiling
about them. Wise legislators will
never make more laws than the people
can understand. But by reason of
the wealth of our country, young men
are sent t*> schools and colleges, and
after receiving their education they
calculate to live by it Will education
feed and clothe you, keep you warm
on a cold day, or enable you to build
a house ? Not at all. Should we
cry down education on this account f
No. What is it for? The improve-
ment of the mind ; to instruct us in
ah arts and sciences, in the history of
the world, in the laws of nations; to
enable us to understand the laws and
principles of life, and how to be useful
while we live. But the idler is ot no
use to himself or to the world in which
he dwells*
In all nations, or at least in all
civilized nations, there are distinctions
among the people created by rank,
titles, and property. How does God
look upon these distinctions ? How
do Truth, Justice, and Mercy look
upon them? They are all alike in
their eyes. The king upon the throne
and the beggar in the street are the
same before t he Heavens — the same
in the eyes of Truth, Justice, Love,
and Mercy. Find a true philosopher
and he will look at the children of
men as they are. I do not care
whether he says so or not, he regards
the poorest of the poor as human
beings — men and women, and the
kings and great ones, no matter how
they are clothed; Ef they wear crowns,
diadems, and diamonds, and ride in
gilded coaches, are but human beings*
Our education should be such as to
improve our minds and fit us for
increased usefulness ; to make us of
greater service to the human family ;
to enable us to stop oar rude methods
of living, speaking, and thinking.
But you take those who bear the
sway among men, those who hold the
affairs of the nations in their hands,
catch them in the d irk, and they are
the lowest of the creations of God-
Many of them descend to the lowest
gutters they can find, and there, in
darkness and in private, wallow in
filth and wickedness. This is a waste
of their lives, a prostitution of their
knowledge and of the blessings Provi-
dence has bestowed upon them. Many
of them will sit and gamble all nisjbt,
to see who sh ill have the pile; and
such men are called gentlemen ! And
in the day time they seem the most
perfect gentlemen imaginable. They
are accomplished to the highest
degree; they understand languages,
and amongst them are to be found
lawyers, doctors, statesmen and mem-
bers of the highest classes of society.
I heard of one in New York. A
young man went there from Boston,
and a gentleman wished to show him
around, and initiate him into the
mysteries of high life in New York*
He took him to one of the finest
houses on Fifth Avenue, I think it
was. The young man supposed it
was the residence of a private family.
He was led into a long hall, so richly
adorned and ornamented tbat his
eyes were dazzled. There was table
after table, table after table, sur-
rounded by gentlemen who were
gambling, and the furniture and the
room throughout were gorgeous in
the extreme. Here was hall after
after hall, side room*1, refreshment
rooms, etc., and the young man found
out that he was in a fashionable
84 JOURNAL OF
gam bl ins: hell He had not believed
in such things before ; but he sat
there fill night watching, for he wanted
to find oat something pertaining to
fashionable life in the metropolis. ,
Al>out 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning
there was a gentleman sat back from
one of the tables. He had played,
played, played at one of the tables
until he had played himself perfectly
oat, his money and estate all gone.
He entered the place the night before
a wealthy man, and by 3 or 4 o'clock
in the morning he was not worth a
penny in the world. He threw him-
self b*ck from the table, and saying ,
** Gentlemen, I am played out," he
took a derringer pistol from his pocket,
put it to his ear, and put a ball
through his brains. He was one of
the wisest of that class of men I ever
heard of. If each and every one of
them wonld do like this one, before
commencing to game, and leave their
substance to men and women who
would labor, they would prove them*
selves wise, for their wealth would
benelit the earth, *' O," say they,
** we have plenty," If you have, go
and build up another city or town;
go into the wilderness, take the poor
with y ou, teach them how to farm,
how to raise cattle, how to gather
around them the comforts of lite, and
prove yourselves worthy of an exist-
ence. If you have money to gamble
with, you have money to buy a farm
and set the poor to work, In doing
this, you lire helping to elevate the
human family ; but in gambling and
otherwise abusing the blessings, power
and influence you possess, you do no
good to anybody, and work out your
own destruction. When you have
bought a farm and set the poor to
work, get a school on your farm, and
begin and teach those who never had
the privilege of going to school
There are hundreds and thousands in
the City of New York who never
DISCOURSES.
went to school a day in their lives ;
they are wallowing in the gutter,
I ragged, dirty, and filthy. They learn
sharpness, it is true ; but where do
they sleep ? By the wayside, or crawl
into some old bnilding — girls and
boys, and live there by the thousand.
They have not a shelter to place their
heads under, but when night comes
their only refuge is old buildings,
hovels, and corners of streets for-
saken by the police, and there they
most spend the night. Why not
take such characters and bring them
out to this country, or take them to
California, Oregon, or to the plains
of Illinois, Wisconsin, &cM and make
a town, settle up the country, and
make thase poor, miserable creatures
better off? You would prove your-
selves worthy of existence on the
earth if you would. But no, ** We
will gamble,** Now gamblers, stop
your gambling here and go to work j
that is my advice. " Well but," say
some, *' we are not going to be in-
structed by Brigham Young." Who
cares for that ? If yoo will not ire*
ceive my instructions, instruct your-
selves. I want you to see, in and of
yourselves, that your life is a poor
miserable life of waste, a disgrace to*
the human family. Go to work,
improve the country, build towns and
cities, set out shade trees, build school
houses and meeting houses and
worship what you please, we do not
: care what Be civil, honest in your
deal, be upright, do not take that
which belongs to your neighbor; and
nrners do not go to law, and lawyers
go to work. If you have difficulties
that you cannot settle among your-
I selves, have recourse to arbitration.
Select your men, three, five, seven,,
nine, eleven, thirteen, or what number
you please, men without prejudice for
this or that side, place them in pos-
session of the facts of the case; and
when they say, " Mr* James Munroe,
GATHERING THE SAINTS, ETC
85
you do so much or, " Mr, John
Jones, you do so and so, this is our
decision," abide by it This course
will cost you nothing, you go about
your business, the country is quiet,
and the community is not running
after these infernal courts. Excuse
me for the expression ; but the whole
nation think we mast have courts,
and the courts adjudicate ; and some
courts take the liberty of legislating
as well as adjudicating, wheo, the
fact is, if all difficulties now taken
into courts were submitted to men's
honor, honesty, brains, and hearts,
they could be adjudicated without the
least trouble in the world. What
would we do with our judges in such
a state of society ? Let them go to
larming, get a factory, or go into
business and improve the country.
I cannot say that this counsel is
especially for the Latter-day Saints,
Why ? For this simple reason — you
take out of these mountains the whole
of the community except the Latter-
day Sainta, and I might include a
good many who do not belong to the
Church, and we would not have a
lawsuit in our midst from one year's
end to another for five hundred miles
square. And if the counsel I have
just given be adopted we shall have
the most stable mining districts
through our settlements that have
ever been found in the western
country. You will never see the
excitement that you have seen in
other mining localities. Of course
there may be some who will crawl up
into the mountains, build up little
towns, and have their games and a
little rowdyism, but not much; you
will see a steadfast community.
We say to the Latter-day Saints,
work for these capitalists, and work
honestly and faithfully, and they will
pay you faithfully, I am acquainted
with a good many of them, and as far
.as 1 know them, I do not know but
every one is an honorable man. They
are capitalists, they want to make
money, and they want to make it
honestly and according to the prin-
ciples of honest dealing. If they
have means and are determined to
risk it in opening mines you work for
them by the day. Haul their ores,
build their furnaces, And take your
pay for it, and enter your lands,
build bouses, improve your farms, buy
your stock, and make yourselves
better off; but no lawing in the case.
I have had an experience in this. I
never lawed it much in my life ; but
from my youth my study has been to
avoid law, and to take a course that
no man could get the advantage of me.
The esteem in which I hold law
prompts me to keep out of it. You
recollect the story of the lawyer and
the two farmers. The farmers had
quarreled about a cow, and they went
to law, and the result was the farmers
held the cow and the lawyer milked
her, 1 never see law going on much
without the lawyer getting the milk
and the cream, while those who go to
law hold the cow for him to milk.
I know yoa think my esteem is not
very high for lawyers. I will say it
is not for their evil practices ; but as
men and gentlemen 1 have known
many who never dabbled in dis-
honesty. I have marveled many
times at the oath that is required of
a lawyer with regard to his client; it
gives him license to make white black,
and black white. If 1 were to fix up
an oath for a lawyer to take when he
entered upon business, I would make
him swear to tell the truth, and to
show the right of the case, for or
against, every time, that is what I
would do. But they are licensed
from the very oath they take to justify
their client, let him be ever so wrong ;
this, however, does not compel them
to be dishonest* Now, I do beseech
you, I pray you, for your own sakes,
you capitalists, to have no law, I
have heard it said that a mine is good
for nothing until there has been two
or three lawsuits over it, but I say
that will make your claims no better
whatever,
I will say still further with regard
to our rich country here. Suppose
there was no railroad across this con-
tinent, could you do any tiring with
these mines ? Not the legist in the
world. All this galena would not
bear transportation were it not tor
that; and, take the mines from 'first
to last, there is not enough silver and
gold in the galena ore to pay for
shipping were it not fur the railroad.
And then, were it not for this little
railroad from Ogden to this city these
Cottonwood urines wuuld not pay, for
you could not cart the ore. Well,
they want a little more help, and we
want to build tin m a railroad direct
to CotLonwood, so that they can make
money. We want them to do it and
to do it on business principles, so that
they can keep it, and when you get
it, make good use of it and we will
help you. There is enough for all.
We do not want any quarreling or
contention j end I btlieve that, if
dishonest capitalists were lo come
here, and commence a dishonest course
with our citizens in hiring them, there
are men of honor sufficient to say,
44 You had better get out oi ibis place ;
we are an honest, and industiious
community, and we wish to deal on
honest principles and make this com-
munity substantial. We will furnish
you with all your supplies that we
can produce here, and take our pay
for it; you take your capital and add
to it, and then when you leave you
will feel well about us and youi selves/'
I do not want jou to think that 1
have ever counseled this. Do it, in
and of yourselves, for you know it
would be ridiculous in the eyes of
some to take counsel of Brigham
Young; it would be pieposierous to-
suppose he can give good counsel* I
leave that, however, to every man or
woman to decide whether or not it is
good counsel There has been but
liule of this contention and lawing
here, and 1 do hope and pray there
will be less ; it only creates bad feel-
ings and distress in any society in the
world*
We are here as a human family-
Bless jour hearts, there in not one of
us but what is a son or daughter of
Adam and Eve, not any hut what are
just as much brothers and sisters as
we should be if born of the sfime
parents, right in the same family,,
with only ten children in the family.
It is the same blood precisely. 1 do
not care where we come from, we are
all of this family, and the blood has
not been changed. It is true that a.
curse came upon certain portions of
the human family — those who turned
away from the holy commandments
of the Lord our God. What did they
do? In ancient days old Israel was
the chosen people in whom the Lord
delighted, and whom he blessed and
did so much for. Yet they trans-
gressed every law that he gave them,,
changed every ordinance that he de-
livered to them, broke every covenant
made with the fathers, and turned
away entirely from his holy com-
mandments, and the Lord cursed
them. Cain was curbed for thin, with
this black skin that there is so much
said about. Do you think that we
could make laws to change the color
of the skin of Cain's descendants 2
If we can, we can change the leopard's
spots ; but we cannot do this, neither
can we change their blood.
There is a curse on these aborigines
of our country who roam the plains,,
and are so wild that you cannot tame
them. They are of the house of
Israel; they once had the Gospel
delivered to them, they had the
GATHERING THE SAINTS, i3U
87
orncles of troth ; Jesus came and
administered to them after his resur-
rection, and I hey received and de-
lighted in the Gospel until the fourth
generation, when they turned away
and became so wicked that God cursed
them with this dark and benighted
and loathsome condition; and they
want to sit on the ground in the dirt;
and to live by hunting, and they
cannot be civilized. And right upon
this, I will say to our government if
they could hear me, ** You need never
fight the Indians, but if you want to
get rid of them try to civilize them."
How many were here when we came?-
At the Warm Springs, at this little
grove where they would pitch their
tents, we found perhaps three hundred
Imiinns; but I do not suppose that
there are three of that band left alive
now. There was another band a little
south, another north, another further
east; but I do not suppose there is
one in ten, perhaps not one in a
there will be a remnant of them
saved, I have said enough on this
subject. " i
1 want to say ;i little now with
regard to tithing. Some of this
people think they pay their tithing*
I expect they do; but I can mak^
the same comparison that Jesus did
when in Jerusalem. Here came the
Scribes, Pharisees, Sadducecs, <fec.f'
and put their substance in the Lord's
storehouse; and there came along a
poor widow with nothing, to all ap*
pear; ui ce. She had not clothing to
make her comfortable, but she bad
two mites, which she had saved
probably by her labor, and she placed
them in the storehouse of the Loid,
Jesus lifted himself up, and, seeing
what they were doing, said, " Of a
truth I say unto you that this pooty
widow hath cast in more than they
all; for all these have of tl ir abun-
dance cast in unto the offerings of
God ; bat she of her penury hath cast
hundred, now alive of those who were in alt her living that she hsid." Now,
here when we came. Did we kill
them ? No, we fed them. They
would say, ** We want just as fine
flour as you have." To Walker, the
chief, whom all California and New
ilexico dreaded, I said, " It will juht
as sure kill as the world, if you live
as we live." Smd he, ** I want as
good as Brigham, I want to eat as he
does/1- Said I, " Eut then, but it will
kill yon," I told t he same to Arapeeri,
Walker's brother; but they must eat
and drink as the w lutes did, and I do
not suppose that one in a hundred of
those bands are alive. We brought
their children into our families, and
nursed and did everything lor them
it was possible to do tor human beings,
there are a few of just this same kind
of characters here who do pay their
tithing. But do we rich men pay
ours ? Not by considerable. I can
inform the Elders of Israel and every*
body eUe that since \vc have been
raising grain in these valleys the
deposits puid in on tithing have \\q%
amoutitod to one- hundredth part of
all that has been raised, whereas one*
tenth was due the storehouse of the
Lord. You may say, u Brother
Brigham, have yon paid in yours V?
No, 1 have not. There is a nutubet
ol the brethren who have paid in coo*
sideiable, but I expect 1 have paid
more tithing than any other man in
this Church, I expect 1 have done
but die they would. Do not fight 'more for the poor than any other man
them, but treat them kindly. There
will then be no stain on the Govern-
ment, and it will get rid of them
much quicker than by fighting them.
in the Church ; yet I have hardly
commenced to pay my tithing. How
is it with you ? I know how it ie*
There are a few poor who pay theit
They have got to be civilized, and , tithing, and who are pretty strict
■
JOURNAL OF
DISCOURS
but take the masses of the people,
And the j have not paid one- twentieth
of their tithing Do you believe it ?
I know it. If I were to reason over
tits and attempt to show the Latter-
day Saints the inconsistency of their
course in the matter, I would plant
my feet on this ground : We are not
Our own, we are bought with a price,
we are the Lord's; our time, our
talents, our gold and silver, our wheat
and fine flour, our wine and our oil,
Our cattle, and all there is on this
ear tli that we have in our possession
is the Lord's and he requires one-
tenth of this for the building up of
bis kingdom. Whether we have
tnuch or little, one-tenth should be
paid in for tithing. What for ? I
can tell you what for in a hundred
instances, but I will only tell you
just a few, and will commence with
the poor. You count me out fifty, a
hundred, five hundred, or a thousand
of the poorest men and women you
Can find in this community ; with the
means that I have in my possession,
I will take these ten, fifty, hundred,
five hundred, or a thousand peopie,
and put them to labor; but only
enough to benefit their health and to
make their food and sleep sweet unto
them, and in ten years I will make
that community wealthy. In ten
years I will put si*, a hundred, or a
thousand individuals, whom we have
to support now by donations, in a
position not only to support them-
selves, but they sMl be wealthy, shall
tide in their carriages, have fine
houses to live in, orchards to go to,
flocks and herds and everything to
tnake them comfortable. But it is
mot every man that can do this. The
Bishops cannot do it; not that I
moujd speak lightly of the wisdom of
our Bishops, but we have hardly a
Bishop in the Church who knows A
with regard to the duties of bis office.
Still we have good men, but our '
hearts are somewhere else, and we
are not studying the kingdom, the
welfare of the human family, nor w hat
our office calls upon us to perform.
We do not seek after the poor and
have every man and woman put to
j usury. This ought to be, for our
, time is the Lord's. All we want is
to direct this time and use it profitably.
There is abundance of labor before
us, We have the earth to subdue,
and to make it like the Garden to
Eden. Do you believe it ? I know
it, But how do we live? Very
much like the rest of the world. We
are ready to run over all creation.
Just as I have said to some of the
brethren, and to some that I huve
known in the world ; they get their
eye on a dime; they see it roll away
and they go after it. By and by they
stub their toe against an eagle ; soon
they come to another one, a doubloon
or a slug, and they will stub their toe
against it, and down they go ; but
they are up again, for their eye is on
that dime, and, in their eagerness to
obtain it, they stumble over the eagles
they might pick up if they had
wisdom to do it. Is this so ? 0 yes,
they who have eyes to see can see.
Take things calm and easy, pick up
everything, let nothing go to waste,
j Yon, sisters, know I have some-
times told you what my office is.
Does it make you ashamed of me when
yon hear some of the brethren say, '
" Well, I do nof believe that Brother
Brigham has anything to do with my
farm or household matters, or with
temporal things; I do not think the
First Presidency has anything to do
with my temporal affairs," O, yes,
we have ; and to come right down to
the point, it is my privilege, if 1 were
capable, to teach every woman in tiiTs
Church and kingdom how to keep
house, and how to sweep house, cook
meat, wash dishes, make bread with-
out any waste, &c. I may go to a
GATHERING THE SAINTS, ETC.
89
house and what do I see? Perhaps
the bottom or top of the bread is
burnt to a coal. Why did you not
do different? "0, these are acci-
dents." Yes, because we never think
of the business on our hands. Mother
gets up and it is : " 0, Sally, where
is the dish cloth, I want it in a
minute?" "Susan, where in the
wot Id have you put that broom ?" or,
" Where is the iron holder F" and
Susan knows nothing about either
dish cloth or broom, and says, " We
have no iron holder except some waste
paper." If I had nothing but a piece
of an old newspaper folded for a
holder I would have it where I could
put my hand on it in a moment, in
the dark if I wanted it. And so with
the dishcloth, the broom, the chairs,
tables, sofas, and everything about
the house, so that if you had to get
up 'ii the night you could lay your
hand on whatever you wanted in-
stantly. Have a place for everything
and everything in its place.
If I only had time I would teach
yop how to knit stockings, for there
are very few women now-a-days who
know how many stitches to set on to
knit stockings for their husbands or
for themselves ; or what size yarn or
needles they require; and when their
stockings are finished they are like
£uu)v of these knitted by machinery
— a leg six inches long while the foot
is a foot or a foot and a half long ; or
the leg only big enough for a boy ten
years old, while the foot is big enough
for any miner in the country. You
know this is extravagant, but it is a
fact that the ait of knitting stockings
is not near so generally understood
among the ladies as it should be. 1
could tell you how it should be done
had I time and knew how myself
i will ask the whole human family
is there any harm in teaching people
how to be mechanics and artists, and
what their life is for? Is there any
harm in teaching them the laws of
life and how to live, so that when
they go down to the grave they can
say, " There is my life, and it has
been one of honor ; look at it and do
as much better than I have as God
will give you ability to do. This is
the duty of the human family, instead
of wasting their lives and the lives of
their fellow- beings, and the preeiou*
time God has given us to improve
our minds and bodies by observing
the laws of life, so that the longevity
of the human family may begin to
return. By and by, according to the
Scriptures, the days of a man shall
be like the days of a tree. But in
those days people will not eat and
drink as they do now ; if they do
their days will not he like a tree,
unless it be a very short-lived tree.
This is our business^
Tfien pay your tithing, juat because
you like to, not unless you want to.
They say we cut people ofl the Church
for not paying tithing; we never
have yet, but they ought to be. God
does not fellowship them. The law
of tithing is an eternal law. The Lord
Almighty never had his kingdom on
the earth without the law ot tithing
being in the midst of his people, and
he never will. It is an eternal law
that God has instituted for the benefit
of the human family, for their salva-
tion and exaltation. This law is in
the Priesthood, but we do not want
any to observe it unless they are
willing to do so. If I ask my brethren,
"Are you willing to pay tithing?"
Many oi them would say, " Yes, we
are not only willing to pay tithing,
but all that we have, for wo are the
Lord's, and all that he has given us
is his," That would be the reply of
thousands here to-day. If the law of
the land would permit us we would
show whether we are willing to deed
our property to the kingdom of God
or not. Mine has been deeded ; and
90 JOURNAL OF
now I will tell yon that the insurance
company that I have taken stock in
is up yonder, and the Lord of Hosts
is President of that company, I do
not want to insure my life in any .
other; and if we want to insure
property, let us insure each others'
and our own. I say, my brethren
and sisters, that if we had the privi-
lege, we would show to the world
whether we would deed everything to
the kingdom of God or not. But 1
can we do it here ? The Government
has pjssst d a law to the effect : I
" That it shuH not be lawful fur any
corpoiation or association for religious
or charitable purposes to acquire or
hold real estate in any Territory of
the United States during the existence
of the territorial government of a
greater value than fifty thousand
dollars ; and all real estate acquired
or held by any such corporation or
association Contrary to the provisions
of this act shall be forfeited and
escheat to the United States: JPro
vided, that existing vested rights in
real estate shall not be impaired by
the provisions of this section."
That is how the Government binds
us up. Never mind, we can build
temples, pay our tithing and our free-
will offerings; we can raise our bread,
hire our school teachers and teach our
children without help. We came
here stripped of everything, and men
in high places sat, and laughed at us,
and said we should perish ; but we
have not perished. Many of them
have gone down to their graves and
their spirits have gone into the spirit
world, where they will not have the
comforting influences of the angels of
God as the Saints will. F Hades, the
grave and the world of spirits are
called hell in the original language.
Now I don't expect them to go down,
down, do*vn to the bottom of the
bottomless pit, where they will be
pitched over with pitchforks, I do
DISCOURSES.
not have reference to anything of this
kind when I speak of hell, or the
world of spirits, I do not wish to
frighten people to the anxious seat,
and then say, aO, my beloved sister,
how did you feel when your dear
little infant died ?" and, " 0, my
beloved brother, did not your heart
bleed for your dear companion when
you laid her in the silent bourne from
whence no traveler returns." This is
not our religion ; our religion does
. not consist of sensation or animal
magnetism, as that of the sectarian
world does. I have seen it from ray
youth up, working on the passions of
the people, making them crazy.
About what? Nothing at all. I
have seen them lie, when under their
religious excitement, from ten minutes
to probably an hour without the least
1 sign of life in their systems ; nr t a
pulse about them, and lay the slightest
feather in the world to their nose and
not the least sign of breathing could
be discerned there, any more than
anywhere else. After lying awhile
they would get up all right. u What
have you seen, tister or brother?
What have you learned more than
before you had this fit ?" I do not
know what kind of a tit it would be,
whether a falling sickness or tainting
fit, or a fit of animal magnetism.
" What do you know, sister ?"
" Nothing." " What have you seen,
brother?" "Nothing nor nobody/*
"What have you to tell us that yon
have learned while in this vision?"
"Nothing at all." It always wound
up like the old song, l* All about
nothing at all."
That is not the faith of the Latter-
day Saints. Their religion consists
ot the knowledge that comes from
God j a knowledge of the law of
heaven, the power of the eternal
Priesthood of the Son of God ; and by
obeying this law and these ordinances
we, in a business manner, pbilo-
THE ONE-MAN POWER, ETC
91
sophicnlly, in a manner that can be
demonstrated as clearly as a mathe-
matical problem, gain the right to
eternal lite; and though we do not
see the Lord in the flesh we can see
him in vision, and we have a right to
visions, administration of angels, the
power of the eternal Priesthood with
the keys and blessings thereof. And
by and through the labors of his
faithful servants the Lord offers sal-
vation to the human family ; and
though they will not save themselves
we calculate to do all we can for them.
God bless you. Amen.
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT BRIG HAM YOUNG,
Dklivkred in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 8, 1871.
(Reported hy David W. Evans.)
THE ONE-MAN POWER — UNITY — FREE AGENCY — PRIESTHOOD AND
GOVERNMENT, ETC.
I have a few words to say to the
congregation and I wish perfect
silence. This is a very large room,
and for any person to fill the space
within these walls with his voice, he
needs strength of lungs and stomach
and the attention of the congregation.
We have been witnessing, this
afternoon, the world's great objection
to '* Mormonisni," for we have had
the privilege of beholding the unani-
mous vote of the people when the
names of the officers of the Church
were presented for election or rejec-
tion. We have seen the same one-
ness and, unanimity this afternoon
which characterize the Latter-day
Saints on all occasions, and this is
objectionable to the world. They say
it is anti-democratic, though we think
not. I looked over the congregation
pretty diligently to discover a con-
trary vote ; but I could not see such
a thing. When the vote was called
all hands were up, I thought, while
witnessing this spectacle, " What
harm is there in a people being of
one heart and one mind ?" but, to use
a common phrase, I could not see the
point. I con not discover any iniquity
in a people's being one. It they are
disposed to chose evil instead of good,
sin instead of righteousness, darkness
instead of light, falsehood instead of
truth, where is the utility in being
divided and quarrelling about it?
And if they have embraced, believe
in and love the truth ; or if they
desire and are seeking for it, I ask,
where can be the harm in being one
in this ? This is the ** one- man
power " that there is, so much said
about.
Now, ask yourselves, and let me
ask you, who has been to you, in-
dividually, and told you to vote just
as you have voted here to-day ? Has
any man visited your habitations to
JOURNAL OF
DISCOURSES,
tell you that when you came to this
house you must all vote precisely
alike? t will pause right here and
will request that, if any person present
has been so instructed, he or she will
let us know it. I do not see any
person rise, and I need not look for
any one to do so, fiom the simple fact
that not a word on this subject has
been said to the Latter-day Saints.
Our doctrine is true and we like it;
our taith is one and we are one in it,
our object is one and we unitedly
pursue the straight and narrow path
that leads to it
This is for those who have only
one ear, half an ear, or no ear at all
tor the truth ; or for those who wish
to leave the truth. Though I do not
suppose there are any here this alter-
noon that wish to leave the trnth for
error, that wish to forsake righteous-
ness, holiness and truth for unright-
eousness, corruption, disorder, con-
fusion and d cm tli. People do, however,
leave this Church, but they leave it
because they get into darkness, and
the very day they conclude that there
should be a democratic vote, or in
other words, that we should have two
candidates for the presiding Priest-
hood in the midst of the Latter-day
Saints, they conclude to be apostates.
There is no such thing as confusion,
division, strife, animosity, hatred,"
malice, or two sides to the question
in the house of God ; there is but one
side tu the question there*
You ask the kingdoms of the world
if they have such an organization as
the kingdom of God, and they will
tell you they have not They have
no organization amongst them so
perfect and complete. Well, is it
right lor the people of the world to
elect their presidents and rulers?
Yes, if t hey wish to. For four years ?
Yes, or for one year, or for six months,
or one month, if they wish to ; but
when the Lord appoints presidents,
he does not change them every mouth
or year, or every four yeais. Should
they be changed ? No, they should
not. Should they be changed in
human governments ? No, they
should not ; and the nation thnt would
delight in a good government, the
best possible for its preservation and
strength, should pattern, in its oigani-
zation, after the kingdom of God on
the earth. Here are our tribunals
and courts ; and our courts are courts
of error, to judge every matter and
cause according to its merits and
demerits. ii
Well, where is the harm in this ? -»
I wish the world, or any scientific
men in it, would detail the error in a
people being one; and 1 will go still
further, and say, being one in the
Lord, as we are commanded nnd re-
commended to be. Even in the
wicked world, where there is so much
contusion, where is the good that
arises from contention and opposition?
I have not seen it, and, as I h;»ve
said, 1 cannot see the point But
here in Utah that "one man power"
is such a terrible thing. 1 would
ask : Who is that man, and where is
the power, and what is the power ?
It is the power of him who brought
us into existence, and he is the man
who wields it, and he is the Fattier of
us all, and the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ He is the .Maker
and Possessor of this earth that we
inhabit, and is the Producer ot all
things upon it Is he one ? Yes. Is
his trinity one? Yes, Is his organ iza-
t ion one ? Are the heavens one ? Yes.
Although we have a short account, in
what are called the Scriptures of
truth, that on a certain occasion there
was a little confusion in heaven. The
Ltord has revealed something of this
in these latter days. What was the
result ? One- third part of the hosts
of heaven walked out I do not t hink
the election lasted a great while, if
THE ONE-MAN
*
they had two candidates, and it ap-
pears they had; and I do not think
they stopped very long at the polls,
or were very long counting the votes
to find out who would be president or
who wonld not, for they turned them
out. Was there any reason for this ?
Would it be democratic to get up an
election in heaven and have oppo-
sition ? Why, yes, according to the
feelings aad understandings of the
political world it would be very
democratic ; but I would say to the
political world, if they were before
me, tint the opposition they are so
anxious to promote contains the seeds
of the destruction of the government
that we live in. This is the plant or
tree from which schism springs; and
every government lays the foundation
of its own downfall when it permits
wbai ane called democratic elections.
If a pirty spirit is developed, the
formation of one party will be speedily
followed by another; and furthermore,
the very moment that we admit this,
we admit the existence of error and
corruption somewhere. Where is it ?
Bight points oot its hiding place, anji
says that truth, and troth only, will
endure, and that falsehood and cor-
ruption and error of every description
are from beneath — are of the enemy;
and the Lord Almighty suffered this
sch is mi in heaven to see what his
subjects would do preparatory to their
coming to this earth, which we need
not talk about to-day. Bat the
division did not take place in those
who were redeemed from the earth
and exalted and brought op into the
presence of the Father and the Son,
to live in their presence and in their
glory, and be partakers of their power.
But it was among another class, and
we are now in the midst of them.
There is but one thread that can be
followed that can endure for ever, but
one pnth that we can walk in that is
eternal — and that path is the path of
POWER, ETC, 95
perfection, purity and holiness. By
this, and this only, have the Gods
been exalted, the angels live and the
heavenly hosts bask in purity. We
are trying to prepare for it.
Can error live ? No, it is the very
plant of destruction, it destroys itself;
it withers, it fades, it falls and decays
and returns to its native ele-nent.
Every untruth, all error, everything
that is unholy, unlike God, will, in
its time, perish. Every government
not ordained of God, as we have just
been hearing will, in its time, crumble
to the dust and be lost in the fo* of
forgetfuluess, and will leave no history
of its doings/ Why, with all the
knowledge and learning now in the
world we have the history of only a
very scanty portion of those who have
peopled our earth from the days of
Adam until now. And we, in our
turn, should go into the land of for-
getful ness were it not for our organi-
zation and the oneness which prevail
in our midst Says Jesus, 44 Unless
ye are one, ye are not mine,'* The
counsel contained in this saying is the
best that could be given. Who could
have given better advice to his friends
than Jesus gave to his disciples? Be
one, for union is strength, is it not?
Yes. Go into the political world, and
you will find that union is strength ;
it is the sume in the mechanical world ;
and if we take every art and science,
and all the pursuits of the human
family, in oneness there is strength.
Said Jesus, 44 Be ye one, as I and my
Father are one, he in me and I in
him ; I in you,1* Ac, Now, I finish
this by saying if there is a person on
the face of this earth that can give a
true and philosophical reason why we
should not be one, I wish he would
bring it forth, for the Latter-day
Saints want to have the best organi-
zation that can be formed, and they
want the best of everything that can
be got. We want the truth, and the
94 JOURNAL OF
whole truth ; and we look forward
with gladness to the time when we
can say we have nothing out the
truth. We cannot say that now; we
have an immense amount of error,
and we are very far from being per-
^fect ; but we hope to see the time that
we can say that we have truth only,
the whole truth and nothing but the
troth ^7 I
I want to say a few words for the
benefit of my brethren the Elders,
and of all the Litter-day Saints, male
and female, old and young; and then
for the benefit of strangers, Christians
and ministers of the d liferent religious
fleets, if they could all hear me to-day.
I can tell you the difference in one
grand principle, between your religion
and ours. It is this : we would not
make everybody bow down to our
religion, if we had the power ; for this
would not be Godlike ; but other
religionists would. It is not dis-
covered by the world, and it is not
perceived enough by the Elders of
Israel. The reasons why we do not
prosper and travel faster and further
than we do, we have not time to talk
about, perhaps, to-day ; but I will say
this: our religion, the religion of
heaven, differs very much fiom man's
religion. It has just been told us
that the divines are in the habit of
taking a text from the Scriptures,
but when they do so they almost
invariably preach from it. I hardly
ever heard a man in my lite, when in \
the Christian world, preach to his
text, but directly from it. This
makes confusion. I
Now, suppose that we were to issue
our edicts to the whole world of man-
kind for them to obey the Gospel we
preach, and had the power to compel
them to obey, could we do it accord-
ing to the dictates of oor religion ?
We could not. We could invite them,
and could tell them how, but we could
not say, and maintain the faith that we |
DISCOURSES.
have embraced, you must bow down
and profess our religion and submit
to the ordinances of the kingdom of
God. I will give you a reason for
this. If this were our duty, and it
were legitimate, if we had the power,
for us to make every person on the
earth submit to the code of laws and
ordinances that we have submitted to,
it would prove that God is in fault in
not making them do so* But if we
become Godlike we will be just as
full of charity as he is. We would
let pagans worship as they please, and
to the Christians and Mahommedans,
and all sects and parties in the world
we would say, u Do juntas you please,
for your volition is free, and you must
act upon it for yourselves before the
heavens. Our religion will not per-
mit us to command or force any man
or woman to obey the Gospel we have
embraced. And we are under no
obligation to do this, for every crea-
ture has as good a right, according to
his organization, to choose for himself
as the Gods. To use a comparison,
all have a right to eat bread or let it
alone ; they may make and eat un-
leavened cakes as the people did
anciently, if they choose ; and no
person has a right to say to another,
u Why do you eat wheat bread, corn
bread, or no bread at all ? why do yoa
eat potatoes, or why do you not eat
them ? why do you walk, or why do
you sit down ? why do you read this
or that book ? or why do you go to
the right or the left ?" for every one
has a right to do us he likes in these
respects, all being independent in
their capacity and choice: Here m
life for you, here is salvation for you,
choose ye this day whom ye will
serve. If the Lord be God, servo
him, or you may serve Baal, just at
your pleasure. If the Elders of
Israel could undei stand this a little
better, we would like it, for the simple;
reason that if they had power given
THE ONE-MAN POWER, ETC.
95
tbera now tbey manifest the same
weaknesses in the exercise thereof as
any other people. They have not an
eye to discern between the spirit,
power, and principles by which the
the Gods live, and those which govern
and control the children of men ; and
yet he f ween the two there is an in-
finite differ once.
■
Can yon find a Christian denomi-
nation which would not make us bow
down to their creeds if they had the
power ? Not one. We have plenty
of evidence to prove this. We have
history enough to prove that when
they have the power their motto is,
"Youshnll." But there is no such
thing in the economy of heaven. Life*
is before us, death is btfore ns, we can
choose for ourselves; and this is one
of the differences between the religion
of heaven and the religions of men.
Do we profess to say that the various
religious systems of the world are the
religions of men ? If they are not,
what are they ? If the sects and
parties have n t been formed by man
and the wisdom of man, what power
did form them ?
I will now say a few words with
regard to our faiih. Our religion, in
common with everything of which
God is the Author, is a system of
law and order. The earth on which
we live hangs and floats in its own
element, rotates npon its axis and
moves at an immense velocity without
oar perceiving it either asleep or
awake, it performs its revolutions,
the atmosphere moving with it, so as
tot to injure, disturb, or molest any
being on its face. But how long
would it retain its position and move
unwaveringly in the orbit assigned it
without law ? Can you tell us, you
astronomers ? How long would the
moon and the members of our plane-
tary system retain their positions,
were it not for strict law ? Who
gave that law ? He who had the
right. The world do not know him,
but he will call around one of these
days and let them know that he is in
being. I will say to Saint and sinner,
that if we do not know him, he will
call by and by, and let us know tliafc
he lives, and will bring us to judg-
ment. If we do know him, happy
are we if we obey his laws. He is
not a phantom ; he does not exist
without law, order, rule, and strict
regulation. And the laws by which
he is governed are the laws of purity.
He has instituted laws and ordinances
for the government and benefit of the
children of men, to see if they would
obey them and prove themselves
worthy of eternal life by the law of
the celestial worlds; and it is of these
laws that our religion is composed.
This holy Priesthood that we talk
about is a perfect system of govern-
ment. Tne best way ■ can think of
to express my idea of Priesthood of
the Son of God is to call it a perfect
system of laws and government. By
obedience to these laws we expect to
enter the celestial kingdom and be
exalted.
We have had a few words with
regard to temples. We are going to
bnild temples. This law is given to
the children of men, I will carry
this a little further, and say to my
brethren and sisters and all present,
that the law of the celestial kingdom
that is introduced here upon the earth
in our day is for the salvation and
exaltation of the human family. Pre-
vious to the coming forth of this
Priesthood and code of laws, there
wa3 no law on the earth that we have
any know ledge of whereby a man or
woman could be sanctified and pre-
pared to enter the presence of the
Father and the Son. This may sound
in the ears of many like strange doc-
trine. But pause a moment; do not
let any of your hearts flutter, not for
a moment If you and the world
96 JOURNAL OF
generally knew all that we know, I do
not believe that there is a wicked man
on the earth, unless be be past the
day of grace, bat would say, " Thank
you, Latter-day Saints, God bless
you ! I will help you to carry on
your work, for you have the keys of
life and salvation committed to you
for this last dispensation," We could
enumerate a few of the laws that we
have embraced in onr faith pertaining:
to the building up of the kingdom of
God on the earth. How is it with
regard to the authority to proclaim
the words of salvation to the children
of men ? According to the Scriptures
of divine truth, and the revelations
that God has given, " no man taketh
this honor unto himself, except he be
called of God, as was Aaron." These
are the words of the Apostle, Did
Joseph Smith ever arrogate to him-
self this rigfhfc ? Never, never, never ;
and if God had not sent a messenger
to ordain him to the Aaron ic Priest-
hood and then other messengers to
ordain him to the AposHrship, and
told him to build up his kingdom on
the t*arth, it would have remained in
chaos to this day* There is no ob-
jection to people having the spirit of
their calling, and having it even
before they are called ; but if they
have the spirit of wisdom given to
them they wait until a servant of
God says, 11 My brother John," or,
**My brother William, the Lord
Almighty has called thee to be a
minister of salvation to the inhabi tants
of t he earth, and I ordain thee to this
office. This is the law of heaven.
Is it observed in the Christian world ?
No, it is not ; there man's authority
and notions prevail entirely, and this
is the cause of their confusion and
variety in their methods of expound*
ing the Gospel as contained in the
Scrip ures; bat when a man who is
called and ordained of God goes forth
he preaches the ordinances, faith in
DISCOURSES,
Christ and obedience to htm as our
Savior. He declares that the first
step to be taken, after believing in *
the Father and the Son, is to go down
into the waters of baptism and there
be immersed in the water, and come
up out of the water as Jesus did,
Some may inquire why the Latter-
day Saints are so strenuous on this
point ? We do it for the remission
of sins ; Jesus did this to fulfill all
righteousness. John said to him,
when he went and demanded baptism
at his hands, M I have need to be
baptised of thee, and comes t thou to
me V* Jesus answered : I do this to
fulfill all righhwusnesB ; I do this to
sd a pattern for my brethren, and for
all who come after me and belie w on
my niime; and this is why the Latter*
day Saints are so strenuous with
regard to baptism by immersion*
What was the result of obedience to
the on! i nance of baptism in the case
of the Savior ? The Holy Ghost, in
the form of a dove, it is said, rested
upon him, This is not exactly the
fact, though a natural dove descended
and rested on the head of the Lord
Jesus, in witness that God had ac-
cepted the offering of his Son, But
the dove was not the Holy Ghost,
but the siirn that the Holy Ghost was
given to him. And after that, Jesus
went forth and was tempted, as you
read.
Obedience to the ordinance of bap-
tism is required that people may
receive the remission of their sins.
After that, hands are laid upon them
for the reception of the Holy Ghost ;
and this Holy Ghost teaches you and
me to vote exactly alike ; it teaches
us to believe alike *md to receive the
ordinances of the house of God, No
man or woman ever received the faith
of this Gospel but what desired to be
baptized by immersion for the remis-
sion of sins and to have hands laid
upon them for the Holy Ghost, Then
THE ONE-MAN POWER, ETC.
97
come the blessings of healing, faith,
prophecy, tongues, and m forth.
I recollect when brothers Kimball
and Hyde went to England the first
man they baptized was George D«
Watt In the second or third meeting
after his b iptism, Brother Watt got
tip and said: UI have the spirit of
prophecy upon roe;" and said he, i
*' We are all going to leave England,
and are going to America, for America
is the land of Zion," Not a word
had been said to Brother Watt about
the gathering. Is not this so, Brother I
Hyde ? (Brother O. Hyde : Yw, sir.)
I wanted to say these few words on
this subject/
And no v, my brethren, the Elders
of Israel, have compassion on all the
inhabitants of the earth, for we shall
never have the koys of authority
committed to us to he rulers until we 1
will rule jast as God would rule if he
were here himself. We have been
persecuted, driven, smitten, cist out,
rubbed and hated; and I may say it
was for our coldness and neglect of
duty; and if we did nut exactly de-
serve it, there have been times when
we did deserve it. If we did not '
deserve it at. the lime, it was good for
and gave us an experience, though I
must say that one of the hardest
lessons for me to learn on earth is to
love a man who hates me ami would '
put me to death if he had the power,
I do not think I have got this lesson
by heart, and I oo not know how long
I shall have to live to learn it lam
trying. I believe that if the reins of
power wore in my hands to-day, I
never would ask a man to he a Saint
if he did not want to be ; and I do
not think I would persecute him if he
worshiped a white dog, the sun,
moon, or a graven image. But let us
alone; let the kingdom of God alone,
that is all we want. If the principles
of eternal life are not sufficient to win
the hearts of the children of men, jost I
No, 7.
take your course — the downward road.
I will say if there be anjr here who
were once Latter-day Saints, but have
apostatized, do not persecute os ; do
not try to hinder the work we are
engaged in. iyVe are trying to save
the living and the dead. The living
can have their choice, the dead have
not. Millions of them difd without
the Gospel, without the Priesthood,
without the opportunities that we
enjoy. We shall go forth in the
name of Israel's God and attend to
the ordinances for them. And through
the Millennium, the thousand years
that the people will love and serve
God, we will build temples and offi-
ciate therein for those who have slept
for hundreds and thousands of years
— those who would have received the
truth if rhey had had the opportunity;
and we will bring them up, and form
the chain entire, back to Adam.
I will say that there is not a man
1 on the face of the earth but, if he
knew the objects the Saints have in
view, and the work they are engaged
in, would rather say, " I h<ive a six-
pence to help you," sooner than he
would persecute and slander this
Priesthood or people. No, he would
say, 44 1 have a sixpence or thousands
to help nn thin good work.'1 We will
bring up all the inhabitants of the
earth, except those who have sinned
against the Holy Ghost, and save
them in some kingdom where they
will receive more glory and honor
th an ever the Methodist contemplated.
This should be a comfort and a con-
sola Hon to all the inhabitants of the
earth. They will not save themselves,
millions have not had a chance, and
millions now living, through the
strength of their traditions, will not
doit; their consciences and feelings
are boond np in their systems and
creeds, whereas, if they felt as inde-
pendent as they should feel, they
would break loose and receive the
Vol. XIV.
ss
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES,
troth ; but they will live and die in
bondage, and we calculate to officiate
for them. Many a man I know of,
who has fallen asleep, we have been
baptized for since the Church was
organized — good, honest, honorable
men, charitable to all, living good,
virtuous lives. We will not let them
go down to hell ; God will not The
plan of salvation is ample to bring
them all up and to place them where
they may enjoy all they could antici-
pate,j Is there any harm in this?
No. God bless you. Amen.
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG,
Dj3LIVETtKJ> IS THE TABERJfACLE, SALT LAKE ClTY, AUGUST 8, 1889.
(Reported by David TF. Evans,)
TRADITIONS — OITi: ESSIXG THE POOR— INFLUENCE OF WOM EX— FASHIONS.
This is a very singular world that
we live in ; yet were if not for the
spirit of error and confusion that
everywhere prevails I think we should
call it a very fine, excellent world.
The annoyunces, diSiculties, errors,
perplexities sorrows, and troubles of
this life, from flint to last, are in
consequence of sin being in the world.
For me to say it is not right for sin
to be in the world, or if we, as intelli-
gent beings, come to the conclusion
that sin entered the world by chance,
through some mistake, and it was
contrary to the design of him who
created us, we should err.
This people called Latter-day Saints
are looked upon as a very singular
people ; in fact, we are regarded as an
anomaly in the world. Why is this
80 ? Are we different to others who
are born into the world ? Are we
not of the same blood as the people
of the other nations and tongues of
the earth ? We certainly are, for we
are gathered from among them. Like
them, we have eyes to see with, ears
to hear with ; we have lips atd organs
of speech, and we use them as others
do j we eat, drink, sleep, plant, sow, '
reap, mow, build houses and inhabit
them, just as they do. Then what is
the difference between us and them,
and why are we looked upon by the
world as though we are entirely
different from them, and why have we
from the beginning met with vitupera-
tion and abuse from the hands of
many, and been deprived of our civil
and religious rights and treated as
outlaws? If we search the Old and
New Testaments, and then the corro-
borative evidence contained in the
Book of Mormon, and find therein how
the kingdom of God was organized,
and compare our present organization
with it, we shall find that one is a
perfect fac simile of the other. This
constitutes the difference between us
and the world, and this is why we
have been treated as we have been,
and why we are looked upon as we
are, i_We believe the Bible and prac-
tice it, as far as our weaknesses will
TRADITIONS, ETC,
99
permit Not that we do it perfectly ; 1
as it has been stated this morning,
Tve have darkness, unbelief, ignorance,
superstition and our traditions to
contend with and overcome ; and they !
cling to us to that decree that we can
hardly overcome them* '
The traditions that we have im-
bibed in the several countries in which
we have been born, and under the
various circumstances under which
we have been raised, offer a wide field
for reflection, and in passing judgment
upon each other's acts a great deal of
charity is necessary. The people of
one nation will do a thousand things,
and, according to their traditions, feel
themselves perfectly j ossified, which
those of another nation, with their
traditions, woul l not consider it right
to do. How would it look here in the '
tin i ted States of America to enter a
large meeting house like this, move
out the bench s, and then for a con-
gregation to enter the house, knee!
down and say a few words of prayer,
get up and begin to waltz around to
the music of the organ ? This would
be considered a very strange proceed-
ing among the people ot America ;
yet in other countries it is done and
is considered most sacred ; and it is
in accordance with their traditions*
People's notions of honesty as well as
of worship differ very widely, and
this difference of opinion is the result
of the traditions they have imbibed ;
and for any persons to say wc will
bring a motley mass together from
various countries, and we will judge
all of them by our standard, would be
diverging somewhat from the path of
truth and justice. Still, notwith-
standing the Vfirious traditions we
have severally imbibed, we are all
capable of coming to a perfect under-
standing of truth and justice, and of
what we should do to be perfectly
right before God. This is a subject
I have reflected upon a great deal,
and I have come to the conclusion
that we shall be judged according to
the deeds done in the body and
according to the thoughts and intents
of the heart
In viewing the traditions of the
Christian world, so far as I have been
acquainted with them, before I knew
anything of the Gospel, and before it
was revealed from heaven, I have
seen men who thought they were as
full of grace, faith, and sanctity as
possible, in fact, full of self- righteous-
ness, which they considered the right-
eousness of God ; and yet what would
they do ? I have known such men,
in time of harvest, or when they had
a press of work, say to the poor man
who was hardly able to procure the
bread necessary for his wife and
children, * I will give you fifty cents
a day if you will come and help me
harvest, and pay you in Indian meal.*'
Such men feel justified, for to oppress
the poor is in accordance with their
traditions.
i A similar course is pursued with
the female sex. A young woman,
compelled to labor for her daily bread,
applies for work to some lady in com-
fortable circumstances. The lady
perhaps says, " What wages do you
want?'* "I do not know. What
will you give me?" The reply is,
probably, " Well, I will give you fifty
cents a week and your board, but I
shall want you to do my washing,
ironing, milking, scrubbing, and cook-
ing," the whole of it, most likely,
keeping the poor girl at work from
five o'clock in the morning until ten
at night. Yet her poverty leaves her
no choice, and she is compelled to
become a slave in order to procure,
day by day, her breakfast, dinner,
and supper. It is probable that if
her father be alive he is too poor to
help her ; and if she has a mother
she may be a widow and unable to
rescue her from a life of toil and
slavery. A lady, whom I knew in
my youth, the wife of a minister,
where I used to attend meeting, said
once to some of her sisters in the
church, 11 Do you suppose that we
shall he under the necessity uf eating
with our hired help when we get into j
heaven ? We do not do it here, and
I have an idea that there will be two
tables in heaven/' Yet she was a
lady of refinement and education, still
the traditions that had been woven
into her very being proved the folly
she possessed to ask such a question.
Do these and similar traditions
exist in the world ? Yes ; I know of
countries in which if a poor person —
or perhaps I should say any person,
and not confine it to the poor — where
if any person, man or woman, were
passing along the street, and were to
pick up a pocket book containing one,
ten, a hundred, or a thousand pounds,
he or she would feel to thank God for
the blessing, and would never think
of trying to find the owners of this |
property, or of letting them know
anything about it, even if they were
known. Such parties would feel
justified in the act, and would rejoice
because they were able to make them-
selves cum for table. Are any of you
acquainted with such traditions ? Yes,
many of you have been brought up
in the midst of them.
What would you do, who have lived
in England, if you had rented a place,
and in that place you had found some
old secret cupboard or hole in the
wall containing a fortune in treasure
which had belonged to some one who
had formerly lestded in those pre-
mises, and whose children 01 relatives
might be living in the neighborhood
even then ? Would y^u divulge such
a circumstance, and do your best to
discover those to whom it rightfully
belonged, in order to restore it to
them? No; you would put it in
your pocket, considering it a god-
send, and never say a word about it*
I see thene and numberless other
traits of character among the people
here, all of which are the results of
their traditions. Now, what can we
expect of them ? We expect to treat
them as children until we can teach
them to become men and women*
Seeing, then, that these differences in
sentiment exist among the pei pie,
and knowing that they are the natural
result of the traditions and circum-
stances by which they have been
surrounded, it will not do to judge
according to the outward appearance,
but according to the sincerity and
honesty of the heart
I look at the Latter-day Saints,
and I sometimes take the liberty to
preach to them ; and this principle,
of being judged according to our
works, is as applicable to communities
as individuals. I, therefore, w ish to
apply it to those amongst us who are
not as diligent as they might be in the
duties of every day li/e, as they pre-
sent themselves before them, whether
they be of a spiritual or temporal
nature. Whatever you do, you have
been 4aught sufficient to know l hat
all our duties are in the Lord and are
circumscribed in the faith and practice
of the kingdom of Gud. 11 The earth
is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof"
The gold and the silver the earth
contains are his; the wheat and 6ne
flour, the wine and the oil are his;
the cattle that roam over the plains
and mountains belong to hi in we
serve, and whom we acknowledge as
the God of the universe. And whe-
ther we are raising cattle, planting,
gathering, building .or inhabiting, we
are in the Lord, and all we do is
within the pale of his kingdom upon
the earth, consequently it is all
spiritual and all temporal, no matter
what we are laboring to accomplish.
We frequently call the brethren to
go on missions to preach the Gospel,
TRADITIONS, ETC,
101
and they will go and labor as faith-
fully as men can do, fervent in spirit,
in prayer, in laying on hands, in
preaching to and teaching the people
how to be saved In a few years they
come home, and throwing off their
coats and hats, they will say, " Re-
ligion, stand aside, I am going to
work no*? to get something for myself
and my family. " This is folly in the
extreme ! When a man returns from
a mission where he has been preaching
the Gospel he ought to be just as
ready to come to this pal pit to preach
as if he were in England, France,
Germany, or on the islands of the sea.
And when he has been at home, a
week, a month, a year, or ten years^
the spirit of preaching and the spirit
of the Gospel ought to be within him
like a river flowing forth to the people
in good words, teachings, precepts,
and examples. If this is not the case
he does not till his mission.
Men may think, and soqie of them
do, that we have a right to work for
ourselves ; but I say we have no time
to do that in the narrow, selfish sense
generally entertained when speaking
about working for self We have no
time allotted to us here on the earth
to work for ourselves in that sense ;
and yet when laboring in the most
disinterested and fervent manner for
the cause and kingdom of God, it is
all for ourselves. When I sav we do
0
not labor for ourselves, I reflect in a
moment that I do nothing but what
is for myself and then for my friends.
It is equally true with all of as; and
though our time be entirely occupied
in laboring for the advancement of
the kingdom of God on the earth we
are in reality 1m boring most effectually
for self, for all our interest and wel-
fare both in time and eternity are
circumscribed and bound up in that
kingdom.
How often, when I was engaged in
traveling and preaching the Gospel,
have the people said to me, " 0, this
must he all a speculation ! You differ
so much from other people that we
cannot believe all you teach," " We
have heard a great deal about Mr,
Smith, or 4 Joe Smith,* " they would
often say, and he must be a speculator,
and these doctrines you preach were
got ton up by him expressly for a
speculation." I have acknowledged
a great many times, and I am as free
to acknowledge it to-day, that it ia
the greatest speculation ever entered
into by God, men, or angels, for it is
a speculation involving eternal lives
in the celestial kingdom of God. It
is the grandest investment on the
face of the earth, and one in which
you may invest all and everything
you possess for the present and eternal
benefit of yourself, your wives, your
children, parents, relatives and friends;
and all who are wise will enter into
it, for they can make more by it, and
be exalted higher by its means than
by any other speculation ever intro-
duced among the children of men.
When I labor in the kingdom of God,
I labor for my own dear self, I have
self continually before tne ; the object
of my pursuit is to benefit my in-
dividual person ; and this is the case
with every person who ever was or
ever will be exalted. Happiness and
glory are the pursuit of every person
that lives on the face of the earth,
who is thoroughly endowed with
wisdom and the sj, irit of enterprise,
whether immorality is brought in or
not. Stich are after honor, ease, com*
fort; such want to wieM power, and
would like to have influence and
dominion. Now, if they will enter
this great speculation — the\ kingdom
of God on the earth, the plan of re-
demption and exaltation devised before
the foundation of the world was laid,
it will lead to greater happiness,
power, influence, and dominion than
ever than possessed or thought of
102
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
I believe it is generally allowed
that "self-preservation is the first
law of nature." If it is, let us save
ourselves and enter into covenant
with God, who holds the issues of life
and death, and who can give and no
one can dispute his right; who can
withhold and no one can hinder it.
Let us enter into covenant with him
by enlisting in this great, good cause,
and thus take ourselves back into his
presence. We can do this tbiough
his grace and Gospel, through the
atonement of his Son, by faith in the
Father and the Son and by our obe-
dience to their requirements*
Now, if we are to be judged accord-
ing to our works I want to proceed a
little further. You will permit me to
be plain in making my remarks ; in
so doing, however, I may inter fern
with individual ears and feelings. I
have a word to say to my sisters.
When I reflect upon the duties and
responsibilities devolving upon our
mothers and sisters, and the influence
they wield, I look upon them as the
mainspring and soul of our bving here.
It is tiue that man is first Father
Adam was placed here as king of the
earth, to bring it into subjection.
But when Mother Eve came she had
a splendid influence over him. A
great many have thought it was not
very good j I think it was excellent
After she had partaken of the fruit
she carried it to her husband, saying,
" Husband, a certain character came
to me and said if you will eat of this
fruit you will find it excellent, and it
will make you as Gods, knowing good
from evil ; and I b*ve tested it, and
I assure you it is excellent." Her
influence was so great with Adam
that he also partoqk of it, and his
eyes were opened. You know the
result — they were both driven from
the garden. Before this, however,
they were commanded to multiply
and replenish the earth and thus
till the measure of their creation.
Now, I say the women have great
influence. Look at the nations of the
earth. Any nation you like, no
matter which, and you enlist the
sympathies of the female portion of
it and what is there you cannot per-
form ? If the government wants
soldiers, they are on hand ; if means,
it is forthcoming. If you want in-
fluence and power, and have the ladies
on your side, they will give it you.
You take a nation that is going to
war, whether our nation or any others
in the late struggle, for instance,,
between the Northern and Southern
States, suppose all the mothers, sisters
ni id daughters of the Republic had
set their will and determination that
no soldiers should go to the fields
how many do you suppose would have
been obtained ? A few Irishmen and
Germans might have been hired, but
that is all. This is the influence the
ladies hold in the nations of the earth.
It is true that they are not allowed ,
to go to the ballot-box, but let the i
females in any district be united atid
say that such a man shall not go to
Co tigress, and I reckon be cannot go.
He may make up his mind to stay at
home and make shingles, raise po-
tatoes, or do something else. If he is
a lawyer, he may try to get a living
by pleading law, but he cannot go to
Congress, And when the ladies say
send such a man, he is pretty sure to
go if they are united and determined
that it shall be so. The ladies may
not know that they wield so much-
influence as this, and they would
probably want some outward sign
before they could be convinced, but it
is nevert he less true that their influence
is as powerful as I have stated.
Now, a few words directly to my
sisters here in the kingdom of God,
We want your influence and power in
helping to build up that kingdom,
and what I wish to say to you is
TRADITIONS, ETC.
103
singly this, if you will govern and
control yourselves in all things in
accordance with good, sound, common
sense and tho principles of truth and
righteousness, there is not the least
fear but what father, uncle, grand-
father, brothers, and sons will follow
in the wake.
It is the ladies who introduce the
fashions here, I will take the liberty
of speaking with regard to some of
them. If you take up some of the
fashion magazines sent here you will
find the ladies very oeauti fully por-
trayed with those u Grecian bends."
They are being introduced here, but
thtyf are of very moderate dimensions
yet By and by, in about another
year perhaps, they will be as large
again as they are now ; and in two
years from the present time they will
be three or four times as large, and if
this ridiculous fashion should con-
tinue they may keep on increasing in
size until on a hazy day, or in the
du*k of the evening, you will not he
able, For the life of yon, to tell a lady,
at a distance, from a camel. Now,
the ladies can do just as they please
about adopting or cbangiug this
fashion. If it is adopted there is
one thing I am afraid of In the
world, you Know, it is no uncommon
thing to see children born deformed;
every such instance might have been
avoided with proper care, for all such
deformities are the result of natural
causes. I hope we shall never see
snch things in Zion, but if our ladies
continue the fashion of the " Grecian
bend " I am afraid some of their
children will be born with humps on
their backs.
There is another item in relation to
fashions to which I wish* to call the
attention of the sisters, being satisfied
that ladies, of naturally good taste,
need only to have their attention
directed to anything showing a want
of it, to discontinue it. I refer now
to the trails or trains that it is fashion-
able for ladies to wear at the bottom
of their dresses. You know it is the
custom of some here to have a longf
trail of cloth dragging after tbem
through the dirt ; others, again, will
have their dresses so short that one
must shut his eyes, or he cannot help
seeing their garters. Excuse me for
the expression ; but this ik true, and
it is not right. The ladies of Israel
should consider these things, and as
they will be judged according to their
works just as much as the men, they
should seek to have good works, and
be governed by good sense instead of
ioolish fashions in their modes of
adorning and dressing themselves.
It is true that we have not the
etiquette here, as a general thing, that
is in the world ; and this is not at all
strange when the circumstances ia
which must of the people h&re been
reared are considered. When I meet
ladies and gentlemen of high rank,
as I sometimes do, they must not
expect from me the same formal cere*
mony and etiquette that are observed
among the great in the courts of kinga.
In my youthful days, instead of going
to school, I had to chop logs, to sow
and plant, to plow in the midst of
roots barefooted, and if 1 had on a
pair of pants that would cover me I
did pretty well. Seeing that this was
the way i was brought up they cannot
expect from me the same etiquette
and ceremony as if I had been brought
up at the feet of Gamaliel. The most
of the people called Latter-day Saints
have been taken from the rural and
manufacturing districts of this and
the old countries, and they belonged
to the poorest of the poor. Many of
them, 1 may say the great majority,
never had anything around tbem to
make life very desirable ; they have
been acquainted with poverty and
wretchedness, hence it cannot be ex-
pected that they should manifest that
■
#
104 JOURNAL OF
refinement and culture prevalent
among the rich. Many and many a
man here, who'll now able to ride in
bis wagon and perhaps in his carriage,
fur years and years before he started
for Zion never saw daylight His
days were spent in the coal mines,
and his daily toil would commence
before light in the morning and con-
linue until after dark at night Now
what can be expected from a com- i
m unity so many of whose members
have been brought up like this, or if
not just like this, still under circum-
stances of poverty and privation ?
Certainly not what we might expect
from those reared under more favor-
able circumstances. But 1 will tell
you what we have in our mind's eye
with regard to these very people, and
what we are trying to make of them.
We take the poorest we can find on
earth who will receive the truth, and
we are trying to make ladies and
gentlemen of them. We are trying
to educate them, to school their
children, and to so train them that
they may be able to gather around
them the comforts of life, that they
may pass their lives as the human
family should do — that their days,
weeks, and months may be pleasant
to them. We prove that thitf is our
design, for the result, to some extent,
is already before us.
I will now return to the influence
of the female portion of our com-
munity. The ladies have power and
j influence to suppress the "Grecian
bend " and other fashionable follies,
if they will. I want them to consider
well their standing, condition, and
influence. Suppose that our wives
and daughters should say to us,
* Husband," or "Father, will you
wear a straw hat of our make T* or, ,
* We had some flax got out last
season and we have made some tow
or linen cloth, and we have some that
would make a nice coat, will you wear
DISCOURSES.
it if we make it up for you ?" What
do you suppose we should say ?
The reply would be, " Wives," or
" Daughters, yes, and we thank you ;
we see your good works and we will
wear the hat or the coat you may
make for us." And we should do
this without ever having a thought
about anybody else being pleased with
them or not; if we looked well in the
eyes of our wives imd daughters, we
should care very little for others.
Then suppose, after they had made
these garments for us, they *ro to the
boys and say, u Here, boys, will you
wear what father weais?" There
would be no fear but the boys would
say, u Yes, if it is good enough for
father it is good enough for us." We
sometimes s^e a few home made hats
in our congregations, and without a
close examination they might be hi ken
for foreign goods, they are so excel-
lent and possess such a delicacy of
appearance and finish, which is praise-
worthy.
What is there in these respect s that
the members of the Female Belief
Societies cannot accomplish. They
can abolish the " Grecian bend," if
they wish to do so, and so far as my
taste is concerned I would much
rather see a " Mormon bend " than a
" Grecian bend ;" and besides tins,
they can contiol the fashions, and if
they are so disposed, make home-
manufactured articles of all kinds the
fashion throughout the Territory.^] Is
there any necessity for this? Cer-
tainly there is. Just for want of a
few hundred thousand dollars, owing
to this people by the railway com-
panies, almost every business man in
our community is oppressed. Sup-
pose the amount due were paid, in a
few months it would be spent and the
people would be in about the same
condition they are in to-day. Where
then could you procure money to buy
foreign goods ? Our merchants are
TRADITIONS, ETC.
105
complaining of dull times and no sales.
Ask them what are their dividends,
and t\tff will tell you " a mere
nothing" Why not relieve this
portion of the community, and keep
them fiora the necessity of straining
their brains until they become insane
to know how to pay their debts ? Say
to them, "Pay your debts, we will
help you to do so, hut do not lun into
debt any more* We are going to
make our own bonnets and hats."
Will you make the ribbons ? No ;
you are not prepared to do so now,
but you soon will be. It any of you
want to do so now I have silk I can
furnish you, and we have plenty of
silk weavers amongst us. But if you
are not prepared for this just say,
"We will do without riblTOns," ot
u We will do with as few as possible,"
and mnke the ornaments you wear on
your heads of the straw that grpws in
our fields.
Ladies, can you do this ? You can,
and we require you to do it. If you
are the means of plunging this whole
people into debt so as to distress them,
wiH there be anything tequired of
you? I think there will, for you
will be judged according to your
works. Are not the men as extrava-
gant as the women ? Yes, certainly
they are, and just as foolish, I could
point out instances by the score and
by the hundred of men who are just
as unwise, shortsighted, and foolish
as the women can be ; but a condem-
nation of the male portion of the
community will not justify the female
portion of it.
There is a great deal said in these
days with regard to woman's rights.
I wish our women understood their
rights, and would then assume them.
They have a great many rights they
are not aware of. As I pass around
from hou&e to house, occasionally, I
sometimes think, u I wish the lady
who lives here understood her rights;
if she did I think her house and
children would look a little different."
It is your ri»ht, wives, to ask your
husbands to aet oat oeautiful shade
and fruit trees, and to get you some
vine and flowers with which to adorn
the outside of your dwellings; and if
your husbands have not time, get
them yourselves and plant them out
S )me, perhaps, will say, uO, I have
nothing but a log house, and it is not
worth that," Yes; it is worth it
Whitewash and plaster it up, and get
vines to run over the door, so that
everybody who passes will say, '* What
a lovely little cottage !" This is your
privilege and I wish you to exercise
yourselves in your own rights.
It is your r%ht and privilege, too,
to stop all folly in your conversation,
and how necessary this is ! 1 have
often thought and said, *' How neces-
sary it is for mothers, who are the
first teachers of their children and
who m«ke the first impressions on
their young minds, to be strict," How
cireful they should be never to im-
press a false idea on the mind of a
child ! They should never teach them
anything unless they know it is correct
in every respect. They should never
say a word, especially in the hearing
of a child, that is improper. How
natural it is lor women to talk baby-
talk to their children ; and it seems
just as natural for the men to do so.
It is just as natural for me as to draw
my breath to talk nonsense to a child
on my lap, and yet I have been trying
to break myself of it ever since I
began to have a family.
These duties and responsibilities
devolve upon mothers far more than
upon fathers, for you know the latter
are often in the field or canon, and
are frequently aw^y from home, som^.
times tor several days together, at tend-
ing to labors which compel them to
be absent from bom£} But the mother
is at heme with the children con*
106
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
tinually; and if they are taught
lessons of usefulness it depends upon
her. How foolish it is — and some
mothers do it, to dress a child in the
most gaudy apparel you can get hold
of, when you know that, unless under
your own eye, that very child, in 6ve
minutes after being dressed, will be
playing in the mud ! Why not "rather
dress the child in something useful
and appropriate, for play, sunshine,
and fresh air are as necessary to
children as food. Do I see any of
this nonsensical short-sightedness on
the part of mothers ? Yes, but it is
for the want of thought and through
mistaken kindness that they do this
and many other foolish things to their
children*
One thing is very true and we
believe it, and that is that a woman |
Is the glory of the man ; but she was
not made to be worshipped by him.
As the Scriptures say, Man is not
without the woman, neither is woman
without the man in the Lord, Yet
woman was not made to be wor-
shipped any more than man was. A
man is not made to be worshipped by
his family ; but he is to be their head,
and to be good at.d upright before
them, and lo be respected by them.
It is his privilege to walk erect, to
converse the same as God, in fact be
is made in the express image of his
Heavenly Father, and he should honor
this position. Yet he is not made to
be worshipped, but to be the head
and superior, and to be obejed in all
love and kindness, and the woman is
to be his helpmeet. Woman has her
influence, and she should use that in
training her children in the way they
should go ; if she fails to do this she
assumes fearful responsibilities.
We have instances in this Church
of motheis full of faith and good
works, and if you mark their children
you cannot find one that is fro ward
in his ways ; I do not remember an
instance among the cbildreii of such
mothers hut what believed in and
delighted in the Gospel. We have
also here the children of mothers of
an oppt site character — mothers who
have been careless and indifferent
about the Go>pel or the kingdom of
God, and, if you mark their children,
they are the same, and they stray
away from the kingdom of God and
from the ordinances of life and sal-
vation. This is the result of the
influence of the mother; I am an eye-
witness of it.
If our sisters comprehended the
power they bear and the influence
they wield in the midst of the people
it does appear to me that they would
consider their condition a little more
than they do. It is true that I some-
times chasten them pretty severely
and talk to them harshly, and tell
them precisely how they look and
act, and the path they are walking in
and point out the dangers to which
they are exposed ; and sometimes it
hurts their feelings, but I cannot
help this. I take the liberty of doing
this and I do it for their good, for it
is seldom that a man will say any-
thing to his wife or daughters about
their every day labor and conduct.
It is true that there is occasionally a
man who will find fault with every-
thing, and a woman who will do the
same: and there is a certain few on
this earth who are never happy unless
they are miserable, and who are never
easy until they am in pain ; but such
people are not commonly to be met
with. Let the husband train himself
to be submissive to the Lord and his
requirements in every respect, and
teach his wife or wives and children
the doctrine of life and salvation and
set before them an example worthy
of imitation, and there are tew families
but what will follow such a husband
and father, Occasionally you may
meet with a family who will be re-
TRADITIONS, ETC.
bell ions tinder such circumstances, f
and yoa may once in a while find a
man who will be rebellions when his
wife and children are lull of faith and
good works. But such individuals
are of Gentile blood, which is the
rebellious blood, and will show it out
Now, sisters, hearken ! Look to
yourselves in your capacity's Relief
Societies in this city and throughout
the mountains. Look at your con-
dition. Consider it for yourselves,
and decide whether you will go to and
learn the influence which you possess,
and then wield that influence for doing
good and to relieve the poor among
the people. When I have been out
in the nations I have frequently been
pained to see the scenes of distress
there to be met with. I recollect
one circumstance, while in England,
I have related it often, but will do so
now. When standing in Srnithfield
3Jarkel,in the City of Manchester,
once, I spent a penny for a bunch of
grapes that had just come from
France. Immediately after I felt as
guilty as I could feel, for I saw a
woman passing by who, I knew by
her appearance, was starving to death.
She dare not steal nor beg, for if she
had done either she would have been
instantly arrested and taken to prison
or the workhouse. I say I felt guilty
for spending that in luxury which, if
it had been given to that woman,
might have procured her a morsel of
bread, and so have helped to relieve
her misery.
Sisters, do you see any children
around your neighborhoods poorly
clad and without shoes ? If you do,
I say to you Female Relief Societies
pick up these children and relieve
their necessities, and send them to
school. And if you see any young,
middle-aged or old ladies in need find
them something to do that will enable
them to sustain themselves ; but don't
relieve the idle, for relieving those
who are able but unwilling to work
is ruinous to any community. The
time we spend here is our life, our
suhstance, our capital, our fortune,
and that time should be used profit-
ably. Take these old ladies, there
are a great many of them around
rather poor, and give them something
to do ; that is their delight. You
will hardly find an old lady in the
community who has not been brought
up to work j and they would rather
knit stockings or do some other
useful labor than eat the bread of
charity* Relieve the wants of every
individual in need in your neighbor-
hoods. This is in the capacity and
in the power of the Female Relief
Societies when it is not in the power
of the Bishops. Do you know it P
L do, whether you do or not ; and you
are learning it. Find out what your
influence is and how far it extends,
and use it to do good ; and live every
day so that when you lie down at
night you can look back on the day
and say, in all honesty before God,
"I do not know that I have done a
wrong action, said an improper word,
indulged in a bad thought, or
neglected to perform any duty that I
ought to have attended to this day,
and I can lie down in peace, and sub-
mit myself to the Lord, and if 1 nerer
wake again in this world, all right, I
am just as ready to go now as I ever
shall be. This is the way we all
should live, but I know we come
short of it, and then plead ignorance
as an excuse, as has been stated here
to-day.
We are here in these mountains.
Row often do I think of it ? Bra
George A. says we are here because
we are obliged to go somewhere.
This is true, we are absolutely under
the necessity of going so mew here or
of fighting the whole world. The
Lord did not desire this. It was
necessary for the people to bescourged,
108
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES,
it was necessary for us to learn whe-
ther we loved our property better
than the truth. live times I have
left a good handsome property j but
no matter, the earth is the Lord's,
and he can give and take away what
he pleases. Every time I have been
driven I have improved in my cir-
cumstances. Every time this work
has been removed it has become taller,
wideband longer; and it in the reign
of K ng James Buchanan, they had
succeeded in removing us we should
have been still better off, because the
Lurd would have prepared everything
for the people to have been better off;
but this was not his mind, Here is
our home, right here in these moun-
tains. What yon have heard to-day
from the previous speaker I acknow-
ledge may grate on the ears of some;
nevertheless it is true. I acknowledge
another thing — truth should not at
all times bo spoken. But we are
here, and the statement you have
heard with regard to the President of
this people saying, " It they let us
alone ten years we would ask no odds
of them," is true; and the only thing
in which we have never failed in
obtaining satisfaction has been to ask
no odds of them, for the most of
things that wc have asked for have
been denied us. In that we can have
satisfaction ; we cannot help it. We
would not have things as they are if
we could help it. We should not
have left the States if we could have
stayed there* If we could have all
the people believe the truth we would
not have them unbelievers. There
is hardly a civilized nation on earth
to which we have not carried the
Gospel without purse and scrip. He
who had money left it at home* We
have offered life and salvation to the
inhabitants of the earth without
iftoney and without price, so you see
we do not believe in a hireling priest-
hood* We preach here without pay.
Do our Bishops labor for pay ? No,
if they are not capable of getting a
living and sustaining themselves and
families, and of filling the office of
Bishop without pay, they are hardly
worthy of the Bishopric. If a High
Priest is called to be a president or
to travel and preach the (Jos pel to
the nations of the earth, he must do
it without- pay ; and we think fiat
any man who is not able to keep
himself and family and travel and
preach one-half or two-thiids of his
time without being paid, is not so
good a financier as he ought to be,
still we find many who do not possess
this qualification. When we have all
learned this we shall find that we can
have all we can ask for or dus re;
everything to make us happy and
comfortable, no matter whether we
are called to go abroad and preach or
whether we stay and labor ;tt home.
Brethren and sisters, una especially
the sisters, I hope you will listen to
\\hat has been said this morning. I
have been preaching to the sisters of
the Church this morning, not to out-
siders. If I had preached to outsiders
I should have told them what the
Gospel is; how they can come to
God, not to an ** anxious bench " I
should have told them to repent of
their sins, and to be baptized for the
remission of them, and to have hands
laid upon them for the reception of
the Holy Ghost, which would bring
to their remembrance things past,
present, and to come ; that would
make prophets and prophetesses of
them ; give to them those gifts that
God has set in his Church — the gift
of healing, the gift of discerning of
spirits, of tongues, of the iuteipreta-
tion of tongues, of prophecy, etc.,
etc. Are they here ? Yes, right
here in abundance, to overflowing.
If the Saints would be faithful in
cultivating these gifts every doctor
might be removed from our midst*
GOOD AND
Let the mothers, say nothing about
the Elders in Israel, exercise the faith
that it is their right to exercise, and
I am satisfied that nine out of every
ten children that now die might be
saved Doctors and their medicines
I regard as a deadly bane to any
community. Give your children,
when sit-k, a little simple herb drink ;
and if they have eaten too much let
them k<> without food until their
stomachs aie cleansed and purified,
and have faith in the name of Jesus
EVIL, ETC. 109
and in the ordinances of his Church,.
and they will live. That is my faith
with regard to this thing. I am not
very partial to doctors and lawyers,
I can see no use for them unless it is
to raise grain or go to mechanical
workj But I need not go into this
subject at the present.
We say forgive us of our errors,
accept the truth and love and serve
God that you may he saved in his
kingdom, which I ask in the name of
Jesus, Amen.
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT BRIG HAM YOUNG,
DiSLA VE«D IN TBi3 NEW TABERNACLE, SALT LAKE ClTY, MAY 7, 1S7L
(Reported by David W* Evans,) .
GOOD AND EVIL— THE TESTIMONY OF THE SPIRIT — HIS GARLY
RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE,
I have a few words to offer to my j
brethren and sisters, and all who hear '
me, concerning the experience of the
minds uf the children of men, espe-
cially in their transit from evil to
good. We vary very materially in
our dispositions, reflections, in the
impulses of our minds, and in onr
perceptive faculties. Tl tere is a great
var iety of operations upon the minds
of the inhabitants of the earth, ami
the people are unacquainted with
them, for they do not lay them to
heart, contemplate and realize them,
consequently they cannot look upon
them as they are. These remarks of
mine are the result of reflections upon
the sayings of our brother who has
been speaking to ns, and telling his
experience when he received the
i Gospel. He told ns that, though his
perceptive faculties were so quickened
that he could read the Bible under-
! standingly, this did not satisfy him ;
he must have a storm. I make use
of this term to express my i lea of
what he desired and so earnestly
sought for. He must have an ex-
perience like a rushing, mighty wind,
or he could not he satisfied* In read-
ing the sayings of the ancients, we
find that they looked sometimes for
i the L ad to come in a storm. Some-
times you will see the storm pass, and
the Lord is not there. The winds
| blow terribly, but the Lord is not
there, A terrible tempest comes
alt rig, in which the lightnings flash
and the thunders bellow almost enough
to shake the mountains down. Is
the Lord there ? No, he is not there.
Bat by and by you hear a small, still
voice saying, " Peace, peace." The
Lord is there, and this is his voice.
It will satisfy some, but others, like
our brother, want a testimony like a
rushing, mighty wind.
I will give you a little of my ex-
perience, not merely at the time that
I concluded to forsake sin and em-
brace peace and righteousness, but
since then. My experience in this
kingdom as a man, as an intelligent
being, concerning the philosophy of
this world and mankind, and all
things pertaining to the earth, teaches
me a great many little items that are
passed over unnoticed by most of the
people. My conclusion with regard
to a sound religious experience is
simply this : If I am convicted of sin
I am made sensible of wrong. If
this wrong exists within me, my good
judgment teaches me that I should
take that and put it away from me;
turn it out of doors ; it would teach
me to say, " I do not want you, you
are not good for me ; you produce
sorrow, mourning, affliction, and all
manner of grief and pain. Go out
of doors, I do not want you, you are
evil I will adopt truth and correct
principles and plant them within me
instead of that which will destroy
me." Being convinced of all this,
what course shall I pursue, if I desire
to procure a sound experience — one
that is genuine and will endure, and
prove to God and all the heavenly
host, also to my family and neighbors,
that I am sorry for sin ? I will for-
sake it, and will not let it dwell within
me, but will do all I can to banish it
from me. Would this be a proof?
Yes. Then let my actions correspond
with the confession of my mouth ;
and if I have discovered this fountain
of evil within me, 1 must lay a foun-
dation to be free from it. Do I wish
to wait until the Lord speaks from
heaven to me ? No, the Lord has
planted within me knowledge and
wisdom to distinguish between right
and wrong, and if I wait until his
voice comes from heaven to tell me
that I am a sinner, or until he gives
me some particular manifestation of
approval on ray attempting to forsake
evil, I may wait a great while. I do
not know how much he thinks of me,
nor whether, if I sought such a mani-
festation, he would come the first
night I knelt down to pray, or the
second, third, or fourth, or whether I
should have to continue a week, two
weeks, or for months. I do not know
anything about this; but my judg.
mcnt having convinced me that I am
wrong, I do not want the liord to
speak from the heavens. I will ask
any intelligent being that dwells on
the face of the earth if it is necessary
to wait until the Lord comes like a
rushing, mighty wind, or like an
earthquake or tornado ? I do not
any necessity for it. If I find an evil
in me to-day I must try and get rid
of it and if I find another to-morrow
I must get rid of it ; and how long
must I continue to do so ? Just as
long as God gives me intelligence ; not
for a day, week, or year, but for my
whole life ; and if I exist for ninety-
nine years, or for nine hundred and
ninety-nine, I do not expect there
will be an hour in which I will not
he under the necessity of endeavoring
to put evil from me if I find it within
me, and to grow and increase in the
principles of truth and righteousness*
By taking this course I know, in and
of myself, that I am forsaking my
sins, and do not want the Lord to
manifest it unto me. I know that if
the plants of sin and death are per-
mitted to grow within me they will
prove ray utter destruction, unless I
tear them up root and branch, and
throw them away. The Lord has
bestowed upon me and upon every
GOOD AND
intelligent being on the earth, wisdom
sufficient to comprehend this, and I
do not want the Lord to come in the
storm, the thunder, lightning, or
whirlwind to tell it to me. I know
that I must uproot the plants of evil
that are within me, and in their place
engraft plants of truth and virtue, I
and these will grow up within me to
eternal life. Is not this reasonable ?
Is this not a true principle ? Tea,
and the whole of man's experience,
science, and wisdom proves it, I
may take, for instance, the beautiful
machinery of my watch, and neglect
to clean it or wind it up ; I may take
out the mainspring, the hairspring or
the main cog-wheel, and then say,
" Keep time for me/' and it would be
no more inconsistent than to say, "I
have naturally within me, through
the fall, the principles of death, and
they reign within me, and I seek not
to put those principles Away from me,
but wait fur the Lord to manifest to
me that I am born of him and he is
delighted with me." I do not care
if I live my whole lifetime without a
testimony from the Lord; not that
he leaves his children thus; he has
never been so hard-hearted, so austere
a master ns to leave one of his chil-
dren with full purpose of heart to
serve him and do his will without a j
witness of his approval But, sup-
pose he were disposed to do so, I am
under obligations, on the principles
of right and wrong, to forsake evil,
and to plant within me every prin-
ciple of purify and holiness, whether
or not the Lord' manifest unto me
that I am his son and that he is
pleased with me. I am not pleased
with myself if I imbibe and cherish
death and destruction ; but let me
cherish life and salvation, that that
promotes the happiness of mankind,
and life, peace, and tranquility within
myself and all around me, and I shall
have my own approval and the ap-
EVIL, ETC. HI
! proval and blessing of the Lord
whether he tells me so, in so many
words, or not.
I am under obligation to take a
course which will sustain life within
myself and others, on rational prin-
ciples, without any special manifesta-
tion from God, You can all see this;
but some think if they do not receive
some special manifestation from God
that he has accepted them, they are
rejected of him. Do you not all know
that you are the sons and daughters
of the Almighty ? If you do not I
will inform you this morning that
there is not a man or woma^ on the
earth that is not a son or daughter of
Adam and Eve. We all belong to
the races which have sprung from
father Adam and mother Eve; and
every son and daughter of Adam and
Eve is a son and daughter of that
God we serve, who organized this
earth and millions of others, and who
holds them in existence by law. Now
suppose he does not tell us that he
particularly loves us and thinks so
much of us; or that he delights in
Brother James or William, or in
Sister Susan or Nancy more than in
any other being on the earth, what
of it ? I do not know that I shall
inquire of the Lord whether he loves
me or not. I do not know that I
; have ever taken pains to ask him. I
have professed religion somewhere
near fifty years, and I do not know
that I ever asked the Lord whether
he loved me or not. I want to take
a course that I can love purity and
holiness. If I do this, then I love
the Lord and keep his command-
ments, and that is enough for me.
If he is not disposed to like me as
well as he did JohtfJ "the beloved
disciple," who leaned upon his breast
on a certain occasion, and tells me
to sit yonder instead of here, it is all
right, I am as satisfied to sit there aa
here. I want to preserve my identity
112 JOURNAL OF
and to increase in intelligence, and if
I can do this I do not know that I :
care, particularly, with regard to how
much, in weight or measure, the Lord
loves me or does not love me. There
is one fact that I do know, he will
Jove* me all he should. If I take a
course to love him and keep his com-
mandments I am for life and duration,
I am for eternity, for I take that
course which will preserve myself.
Many men and women who have
obeyed the Gospel and have not
received from the Lord these striking
testimonies, will say, u Well, I really
do not know that 1 can tell whether
the Gospel is true or not." To all
such I say, then you are no philo-
sopher at. all, for upon the rational
principles of common philosophy you
Can hi) whriher it is Irue or not*
D^es it contain the seeds of life?
D^es it promote the plants and yield
the fruirs of life, or da s it produce
the plants and yield the fruits of
death ? You can ask these questions
and readily answer them for your-
selves. Not that I wish to make a
mere historical convert, or a people
who believe historically, mathemati-
cally, or philosophically ; but. I know
and understand that the Lord never
leaves his children without a witnea*
Now I will tell you a witness which
would he enough for me — I read the
Bible, diligently and faithfully, and
if I could have found a church and
people organized according to the
pattern contained in its pages I should
have been satisfied that that was
God's Church and people, and that
would have been witness enough for
me. But I will -jive you a little of
my experience in my early days with
regard to the religious sects. From
my youth up their cry was, " Lo here '
is Chiist, lo there is Christ;1' no,
"Yonder is Chiist ;" ** Christ is not
there, he is here," and so on, each
claiming that it had the Savior, and |
Dtscouasra
that others wete wrong, I used to
think to myself, "Some one of you
may be right, but hold on, wait
awhile! when I reach the years of
judgment and discretion I can judge
for myself; ami in the meanwhile
take no course either with one party
or the other." When I won Id make*
known my views and feelings with
regard to their confused state they
would call me an infidel. I would
sav to them, UA11 right, T a mi an
infidel in a great many ti rings." I
read the Bible, and especially the
New Testament, which was given as
a pattern for the life of Christians,
whether as a church or individuals,
and this was my inward inquiry, M Is
there a church on the earth organized
according fo iue pal Urn Jesus left?"
No. Is there an Apostle left on the
j earth ? Nut one. Is there a prophet,
which the Scriptures inform us were
placed in the Church for its ediBca-
1 tion ? Not one. Is there an evan-
gelist? No, Is there the gift of
healing? We cannot tind any such
thing, with all their cries of M Lo
here, In there, and lo yonder." " Are
there any who speak with tongues ?**
No. Any that prophecy?. No, we
do not believe in prophecy Any one
, who has received the H ly Ghost,
and speaks and preaches by its in-
fluence? 11 Why the Holy Ghost is
I not given in these days," say all those
who say, " Lo, here is Christ/' and
" Lo, there is Christ !" Well, I used
to say, I am an infidel, for 1 do not
believe anything, of this; when yon
bring me a people built np and
believing according to the New Testa-
ment I will believe that they are
right. When you find such a people
you will tind the people and Church
of God, with all the gifts and graces
of the Gospel in their midst ; and you
will tind the kingdom of God on the
earth." They labored with me, but
I finally declared that I was an infidel,
GOOD AND
for I could not believe in their doc-
trines and principles. Yet I have
been at many of their meetings and
seen their modes of conversion. As
I have said to my friends here, in
speaking about Spiritualism, I have
seen the effects of animal magnetism,
or some auomalous sleep, or whatever
it may be called, many a time in my
youth, I have seen parsons lie on
the benches, on the floor of the
meeting house, or on the ground at
their caTip meetings, for ten, twenty,
and thirty minutes, and I do not know
but an hour, and not a particle of
P'llse about them. That was the
effect of what I call animal mag-
netism ; they called it the power of
Go 1, but no matter what it was. I
nsed to think that I should like to
ask such persons what they had seen
in their trance or vision; and when I
got old enough and da?ed ask them,
I did so. I have said to such persons:
** Brother, what have you expe-
rienced ?" " Nothing." " What do
yon know mote than before you had
this; what do you cull it — trance,
sleep or dream ? Do you know any
more now than before yon fell to the
earth ?n " Nothing mote.1* " Have
you seen any person ?" " No," Then
what is the use or utility of your
falling down here in the dirt P" I
could not see it, and consequently I
was an infidel to this. But I said
then as I say now — u Show me a
church that God has organized, and
you will find Apostles to rule, govern,
control, dictate, and give counsel.
You will tit id prophets, evangelists,
pastors, teachers, governments, helps,
and diversities of tongues. When
the Church and kingdom of God is
upon the earth you will find all these
things and you will also hear pro-
phesying therein.
I will now return again to our
experience here* In Christendom
the people are taught by the priest,
No. 8.
EVIL, ETC. 113
by father, by mother, by president,
prince and king, that the Bible is
true and that Jesus is the Christ j
and they inherit this belief, and if it
is a true principle to believe in Jesus,
they inherit it without the use of
their judgmentand reasoning faculties*
And when you find a church organized
according to the New Testament pat-
tern it does not require any particular
manifestation to pro^e its truth, for
we are taught from our youth up to
acknowledge the New Testament and
we cannot help it. It is interwoven
into our very natures ; I do not know
but it is the warp and the filling,
both. In consequence of this we
have a holy reverence for and a belief
in the Bible, though we may not
believe in the actions of all those who
profess to belief e in ife. As it was
observed by my brother, " He loved
religion ;" and for myself I can say
that I have always had a holy rever-
ence for the truth. I have had a
divine reverence for it fro* n my youtbf
but not for the conduct of all those
who profess to be Christians.
Well, bow can you know when yon
have passed from death unto life?
You had the witness right here from
our brother, according to the testi-
mony of the Apostles, u By this ye
shall know ye have passed from death
unto life, if ye love the brethren."
Our brother said he loved that poor
Elder who preached the Gospel to
hi in, although he could not gain ad-
mittance into a decent house. Nobody
would receive an Elder of Israel,
nobody would receive a messenger
bearing the words and keys of eternal
life and salvation to the nations, but
a poor widow on a hack street where
our brother was ashamt-d to go. It
put me in mind of the harlot Rahab,
She alone would receive the spies
sent out by Joshua, the servant of
God. Do you not think, she was
blessed? I think so; and I think
Vol XIV.
1H
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
the poor widow who received and
gave an asylum to the Elder referred
to by our brother was blessed also,
for his words were life, light, and
peace ; and he said that he loved him,
tod by this he might have known that
he had passed from death unto lite.
Now, to our experience again.
Suppose you obey the ordinances of
the Gospel, and do not speak in
tongues to-day, never mind that
Suppose you do not have the spirit of
prophecy, no matter* Suppose you
do not receive any particular gift
attended by the rushing of a mighty
wind, as on the day of Pentecost,
there is no particular necessity that
you should. On the Day of Pentecost
there was special need for it, it was a
peculiarly trying time. Who believed
on Jesus? Look at his poor dis-
ciples! When Jesus was on trial,
Peter, the chief of the Apostles, dare
not own him, and denied him through
fear. There was not a man or woman
to stand up and say, " This is the
Christ ; don't you crucify him. He
is Christ, the Savior of the world ; be
cautious how you handle that man/*
There was not one to say any thing of
this kind. It was a very peculiar
time, and some special and powerful
manifestation of the power of the
Almighty was necessary to open the
eyes of the people and let them know
t hat Jesus had paid the debt, and that
they had actually crucified him who,
by his death, had become the Savior
of the world. It required this at that
time to convince the people; but
when the doctrines of Christianity
became popular it was no longer
necessary. I do not need 'this; do
you ? No. Do you believe the
truth ? If you do, embrace it in your
lives. What next? Prove to the
Lord, to all the heavenly host, and to
the inhabitants of the earth, that you
live according to the law of the holy
Gospel that God has revealed for the
salvation of the children of men.
This will show that you are honest
and sincere, and that you are worthy
of life eternal in the celestial kingdom
of God,
God bless you. Amen. *
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 14j 1871.
(Reported by David W. Evans.)
ATTENDING MEETINGS — RELIGION & SCIENCE — GEOLOGY — THE CREATION.
I sometimes ask the Saints a ques-
tion with regard to oar meetings, but
I have not done so lately. We come
fcere on Sabbath mornings to this
large hall, which will contain a great
many people, but only a few, in pro*
portion to the number there is in the
city who should be here, attend ; and
I ask myself and have heretofore
asked the people why they do not
attend ? Do they love their meetings,
do they love their religion, and do
ATTENDING MEETINGS, ETC.
115
they love to hear the servants of the
Lord bear testimony to the truth ?
How is it ? Perhaps many of the
brethren and sisters think we are not
as interesting in our conversation as
we should be. I will say to such, we
will give the ground to you at any
time you will take the stand, and we
will sit and hear. But when we talk
to you we give yon such ideas as we
have, and we clothe them in the best
language that is in our possession,
according to the ability and the gift
and grace that we possess. Whether
they are interesting to you or not is
not for me to say. It is true the
Saints may ask me why I do not
attend meetings more strictly than I
do. I will say that, in my life, I have
been very strict in attending meet-
ings, and when I attend now I feel
that the Saints require me to speak
to them ; that is their desire and their
faith - but I have met with and talked
to them and the inhabitants of the
earth so much that I very frequently
feel that my talk is almost finished,
it is pretty much gone out of me ;
not the subjects to talk upon or the
ideas, but the strength of my human
existence, and in consequence of this
during the winter just passed I have
stayed at home. I have not asked
the Saints to excuse me on this
account, for I think that I know my
own duty and what I should or should
not do better than anybody else ; but
as I am feeling much better with
regard to my stomach and lungs,
though I have no complaint to make
of my lungg as to the wind chest — I
have plenty of strength there ; but
the organs of speech in this taber-
nacle are actually worn ; but as I am
feeling better I expect to meet with
you more frequently
It is my highest delight and plea-
sure to serve God and keep his com-
mandments ; there is great delight in
the law of the Lord to me, for the
simple reason — it is pure, holy, justf
and true ; and those principles which
the Lord has revealed are the only
correct principles that man possesses
on the earth. We may imagine to
ourselves that we possess a great deal
of human wisdom independent of the
Lord, bat this is a mistake, for every
truth that is in the possession of the
children of men upon the earth came
from God, The sciences understood
by man came from God, and when
we demonstrate a truth, we demon-
strate a portion of the faith, law, or
power by which all intelligent beings
exist, whether in heaven or on earth,
consequently when we have truth in
our possession we have so much of
! the knowledge of God, I delight in
this, because truth is calculated to
sustain itself ; it is based upon eternal
facts and will endure, while all else
will sooner or later perish.
It was observed here just now that
we differ trom the Christian world in
our religious faith and belief ; and so
we do very materially. I am not
astonished that infidelity prevails to
a great extent among the inhabitants
ot the earth, for the religious teachers
' of the people advance many ideas and
| notions for truth which are in oppo-
sition to and contradict facts demon-
strated by science, and which are
generally understood. Says the
scientific man, " I do not see your
religion to be true ; I do not under-
stand the law, light, rules, religion,
or whatever you call it, which you
say God has revealed ; it is confusion
to me, and if I submit to and embrace
your views and theories I must reject
the facta which science demonstrates
to me," This is the position, and the
line of demarcation has been plainly
drawn, by those who profess Chris-
tianity, between the sciences and
revealed religion, You take, for in-
stance, our geologists, and they tell
I ns that this earth has been in existence
116 , JOURNAL OF
far thousands and millions of years,
Tbey think, and they have good
reason for their faith, that their re-
searches and investigations enable
them to demonstrate that thiB earth
has been in existence as long as they
assert it has ; and they say, " If the
Lord, as religionists declare, made the
earth out of nothing in six days, six
thousand years ago, otir stndies are
all vain j bat by what we can learn
from nature and the immutable laws
of the Creator as revealed therein, we
know that yonr theories are incorrect
and consequently we must reject your
religions as false and vain ; we must
be what you cull infidels, with the
demonstrated truths of science in our
possession ; or, rejecting those truths,
become enthusiasts in, what you call,
Christianity "
In these respects we differ from
the Christian world, for our religion
will not clash with or contradict the
facts of science in any particular.
You may take geology, for instance,
and it is a true science; not that I
would say for a moment that all the
conclusions and deductions of its pro-
fessors are true, but its leading prin-
ciples are; they are facts — they are
eternal ; and to assert that the Lord
made this earth out of nothing is
preposterous and impossible. God
never made something out of nothing ;
it is not in the economy or law by
which the worlds were, are, or will
exist. There is an eternity before I
us, and it is full of matter; and if
we bnt understand enough of the
Lord and his ways, we would say
that he took of this matter and
organized this earth from it. How
long it has been organized it is not
for me to say, and 1 do not care any-
thing about it As for the Bible
account of the creation we may say
that the Lord gave it to Moses, or
rather Moses obtained the history
and traditions of the fathers, and from
DISCOURSES.
these picked out what he considered
necessary, and that account has been
handed down from age to age, and
we have got it, no matter whether it
is correct or not, and whether the
Lord found the earth empty and void,
whether he made it out of nothing
or out of the rude elements ; or
whether he made it in six days or in
as many millions ot years, is and will
remain a matter of speculation in the
minds of men unless he give revela-
tion on the subject. If we understood
the process of creation there would
be no mystery about it, it would be
all reasonable and plain, for "there is
do mystery except to the ignorant
This we know by what we have
learned naturally since we have had
a being on the earth. We can now
take a h \ mn book and read its con-
tents ; but if we had never learned
our letters and knew nothing about
type or paper or their uses, and should
take up a book and look at it, it would
be a great mystery ; and still more
so would it be to see a person read
Hue after line, and give expression
therefrom to the sentiments of him-
self or others. But this is no mystery
to us now, because we hav$ learned
our letters, and then learned to place
.those letters into syllables, the sylla-
bles into words, and the words into
sentences.
Fifty or a hundred years ago, if any
one had told the people of the East
Indies that water could be congealed,
and form ice so thick and hard that
you could walk on and drive teams
over it, they would probably have
said, " We do not believe a word of
it" Why? Because they did not
know anything about it. A proper
reply for all mankind to make nnder
similar circumstances would be, " We
do not know anything about what
yon say, and do not know whether
we should have faith in it or not.
Perhaps we should, but we have no
ATTENDING MEETING, ETC.
117
evidence at present on which to found
such a belief/' Yon go down south
here among some of our native Indian
tribes, where some of the very best of
blankets are made, and you will find
thera twisting their yarn with their
fingers and little sticks, and their
loom attached to the limbs of trees
for weaving purposes. Show them a
loom such as white people use, and it
would be a perfect mystery to them.
Sixty or seventy years ago a loom
worked by water power would have
been a mystery to an American, but
there is no mystery in that to-day, !
because the process is understood.
So it is with the East Indians and j
ice, for the chemist now, by a chemical
process, will congeal the water and
make ice of it before their eyes, and
it is in this way, by testimony, evi-
dence, and demonstration that ignor-
ance and prejudice *re removed, faith
implanted and knowledge acquired.
It is so with regard to all the facts in
existence that we do not understand
We differ very much with Christen-
dom in regard to the sciences of
religion. Our religion embraces all
truth and every fact in existence, no
matter whether in heaven, earth, or
hell. A fact is a fact, all truth issues
forth from the Fountain of truth, and
the sciences are facts as far as men
have proved them. In talking to a
gentleman not long ago, I snid, " The
Lord is one of the most scientific
men that ever lived j you have no
idea of the knowledge that he has
with regard to the sciences. If you
did bat know it, every truth that you
and all men have acquired a knowledge
of through study and research, has
come from him — he is the fountain
whence all truth and wisdom flow;
he is the fountain of all knowledge,
and of every true principle that exists
in heaven or on earth." The gentle-
man said that such ideas conflicted
with his traditions ; but said he, " I
like to hear such talk and such prin-
ciples taught, for we do know, from
scientific research and investigation,
that certain facte exist in nature which
those called Christians discard or
throw away j they do not want any-
thing to do with them ; they say this
has nothing to do with religion ; but
you talk very different to this."
Yes, we do difler in these respects
from the Christian world ; with them
it is " glory, hallelujah," shouting
" Praise the Lord," singing, praying
and preaching j and when they are
out of meeting they are too apt to
enter into the spirit of the world.
The rel igion that we have embraced
must las* a man from Monday morn-
ing until Monday morning, and from
Saturday night until Saturday night,
and from one new year until another;
it must be in all our thoughts and
words, in all our ways and dealings.
We come here to tell the people how
to be saved ; we know how, conse-
quently we can tell others. Suppose
our calling, to- morrow, is to conduct
a railroad, to go into some philo-
sophical business, or no matter what,
our minds, our faith or religion, our
God and his Spirit are with us ; and
if we should happen to be found in a
room dedicated for purposes of amuse*
ment and an accident should occur,
and an Elder engaged in the dance is
called upon to go and lay hands oil
the sick, if he is not prepared to
exercise his calling and his faith in
God as much there as at any other
| time and in any other place, he never
should be found there, for none have
a legal right to the amusements which
the Lord has ordained for his children
except those who acknowledge his
hand in all things and keep his com-
mandments. You see from this that
our religion differs very much from
others.
A gentleman said to me not long
since, m You 4 Mormons ' don1 1 seem
118
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES
to be very religious ; I do not make
any pretensions to be religious ; and
I like you very well/* I replied,
**/JJhat is a mistake, we are the most
religious people on the face of the
earth. We do not allow ourselves to
go into a field to plough with out
taking our religion with us ; we do
not go into an office, behind the
counter to deal out goods, into a
counting house with the books, or
anywhere to attend to or transact any
business without taking our religion
with us. If we aro railroading or on
a pleasure trip our God and our
religion must be with us, We are
the most religious people in the world ;
but we are not so enthusiastic as some
are* We have seen plenty of en-
thusiasm, but we do not care about
it." Said I, 41 This shouting and
singing one's self away to everlasting
bliss, may be all very well in its
place ; but this alone is folly to me;
my religion is to know the will of
God and do it
I will s»y a few words to the Saints
bow. Shall I come right out plain
to you ? I think I will. Suppose I
were to get up a party here and say,
** You are welcome, 1 will find music
and a good dinner," do you not think
tliis room would be crowded f Yes,
to overflowing, it would not be large
enough ; but when it is opened for the
worship of God how different ! O,
Saints, all the fear that I have with
regard to us as a people, is that we
may neglect our God and our religion !
We have passed through the narrows,
and Lave run the gauntlet for forty
years now and have come out un-
ecathed, and what do you say ? Will
we serve God.
Latter-day Saints, have your chil-
dren come to meeting. Sisters, let
your little girls go to Sunday school
or come to meeting ! Brethren, let
your children goto Sunday school, or
to meeting, and advise your neighbors
to do the same, and let this hull be
crowded ; and when more want to
gain admittance than it will accom-
modate we will resort to the New
Tabernacle, ns we intend to do this
afternoon. Some of the sisters say it
is so warm in here ; but let me ask
them whether they would go without
hreukfast rather than cook it because
the stove is hot. If there were a
breakfast or dinner here, I expect
you would come notwithstanding the
warmth. I do not fear the scoffs of
the world; but, as I have already
said, if I fear anything with regard to
this people, it is that they will neglect
God and their religion.
We have heard something about
Joseph Smith this morning. Brother
Woodruff has been talking about the
Prophet. I can say that if the whole
world of mankind had known Joseph
Smith and this people as well as we
know them, the biggest infidel in the
world, or the wicked est man living^
if he had not passed the day of re-
demption and grace, so thai the Spiiit
of the Lord had ceased to operate on
Bis mind, that man would thank God
lor the Latter-day Saints, for we are
for the salvation of all who can be
saved, and we calculate to continue
until the work is done. Jesus is our
captain and leader ; Jesus, the Savior
of the world — the Christ that we
believe in, is the u one-man power"
so much talked about; and we cal-
culate to do h is will as far as we
know it. May God help us to do it f
Amen.
OEEDIENCE, ETC.
p
119
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG,
Delivered W the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 21, 1871.
(Reported by David W. Evans*)
OBEDIENCE — THE REVELATION ON MARRIAGE & THE ANTI-POLYGAMY LAW.
If my friends will have patience
with roe I will say a few words. To
the Latter-day Saints I say, I do pray
you to prove the words of Brother
Cannon true with regard to being
obedient to your President in all
things, and doing as he tells you. I
pray you to hearken to this counsel ;
if you do, contention and sin will
cease, and we shall not see men going
to the canon or riding out for pleasure
on the Sabbath day, instead of coming
here to meeting; we shrill hear no
more of their taking advantage of
each other, stirring up strife, going to
law, bearing false witness, or pilfering
a little the one from the other, I
pray you to take this counsel, and
cease your wickedness, Latter-day
Saints, and do as your President tells
you. I feel to say this ; and if you
will be patient with me I will say a
little more.
There are strangers here, and to
them I will say we have traveled the
earth over, and where we could not
go we have sent by Elders and by
proclamation. We have asked the
inhabitants of the earth to become
acquainted with our doctrine. Would
they read it ? No. Would they go
to hear an Elder preach ? No, as a
general thing they would not. If we
had been let alone while with the
Christians we would have been there
now proclaiming the Gospel. But I
wish to say to strangers thatfwe were
not persecuted because we believed in
having many wives, for that principle
was not known to our persecutors
until we came to these mountains,
although the revelation was received
by Joseph Smith and written a year
before his death. Since this doctrine
has been proclaimed we have lived
in peace.
The inquiry among many, and
especially among our political Iriends,
is, " What are you going to do ? Are
you going to observe the law against
plurality of wives, or are you going
to obey the revelation ?" We have
obeyed the revelation thus far, and
still live; that I can say, and perhaps
that is enough. What do we say
about the lawmakers? Go to, ye
legislators, and make a law that every
man in this government shall have
one wife. You have just as good a
right to do that as to say that we
shall not have two. Let every man
have his wife, raise his family, live
virtuously and keep his vows, and our
difficulty is at an end. We say to
Congressmen and Presidents, have
your wife; and we also say to every
political and financial man the world
over, marry the women and take care
of them and save us the trouble If
you do not, we will gather them up,
just as sure as the world. Many
destroy life; we save it; and as we
have said, years and years ago, we
say now to all, the day that you will
be virtuous and cease your unlawful
connections with the sex, and every
man have his wife, and all the in-
habitants of this government observe
JOURNAL OF
DISCOURSES.
ibis rule, we shall have then but one
wife apiece; hot we shall save all we
can save. The men are the lords of
the earth, and they are more inclined
to reject the Gospel tl an the women.
The women are a great deal more
inclined to believe the troth than the
men; they comprehend it more
quickly, and they are submissive and
easy to teach, and if we cannot save
the men, let us save the women for
God's sake, and do not find fault
with us.
Again, a gentleman said to me, the
other day, " What are you going to
do with the anti polygamy law r" I
replied, " Nothing at all, we mind
our own business, and I hope every-
body else wilh Wc hare not meddled
with it, and do not expect to ; but we
expect to live/1 J
I want to say a Wf rd with regard
to what are called our former perse-
cutions; though I, for one, will
acknowledge that I have never been
persecuted. f^As for what people do
with my name, I do not know nor
care ; they u>e it for good or for evil,
just as they please. The Lord gave
a revelation through his servant to
me, that my name should be had for
good and fur evil before the nations
of the earth, and if that is the way
they use it, all right — either one or
both, no matter. Hands off is all I
ask, and let us have the piivilege of I
living in peace. But will you hearken
to the truth ? Will you listen to |
tne words of eternal life ? We have
traveled the earth over, and have read
to the people out of the book of life j
but as a general thing they have
refused to receive it. It is true that
a few have received it in the past,
jmd I hope that many will in the
fpture. We shall gather and save all
we can. The rise and cause of our
persecutions have been just the eame
as it has ever been in the experience
of the Saints of God, Who were the
leaders and foremost in the ranks of
the Savior's persecutors? The Scribes
and the Pharisees* Who were fore-
most in the ranks in persecuting
Joseph Smith, even when he had the
pledge of the governor of the State of
Illinois that he should be preserved,
and when not one scratch or law could
be found against him P Who led the
blackened crew who said that if the
law could not reach him, powder and
ball should? The priests; they
have always led tbe van, and always
will. It is Baal against Christ now,
as it always was.
When we were in Missouri the
order was issued, " You 1 Mormons*
must leave the State," and thirty-five
hundred men were paraded tor battle
against about three hundred of the
Elders of Israel, but they did not
happen to kill us all They took
Joseph, or rather they sent lor hira
and Hyrum, and they went down to
their camp, and General Clark called
the brethren together, and, said he,
u Give up your arms and every
weapon you have;" and the brethren
gave them up. I stood there and
heard the General declare, " Gentle-
men, you are the best and most peace-
able community there is in this State;
but," fcaid he, 41 as for your prophets,
hishops, high councils, &c., we shall
not permit you to have them any
lunger. Forsake your religion and
abandon your ProphetJ We have
him, and you will never see him
again ; forsake this banding together
and being one, and live with us and
become as we are, You are the very
mechanics and farmers we want. Yoa
have shown us bow to build mills,
set out orchards, raise wheat, rear
comfortable habitations, school the
child] en, build meeting houses, and,
in short, you have done more to make
the country in three years than we
have in fifteen, You are good citizens,
but you must not clan together, you
OBEDIENCE, ETC.
121
must disperse among the people ; if
you do not, remember the militia will
be upon you." We bid them good
bye and left our property ; we would
not forsake our prophets then, and
we are of the same mind yet.
Here we are, though we did not
come here because we chose to get
out of the way of the Christians* We
wanted to stay with our former
brethren, to induce them if possible
to receive the truth ; but they would
not hear it. The world of mankind
is sunk in ignorance and darkness ;
but the Lord Almighty has revealed
his will from heaven, and we shall
declare it to the people, and give
them a chance to receive or reject it
The Lord invites all to come, and
partake of the benefits of his Gospel,
which, we are told in the Scriptures,
is the power of God unto salvation ;
and our experience has proved that it
is so, whether taken in a moral, social,
political, or financial point of view,
We have gathered the poorest class
of men to be found on the continent
t)f America, and I was one of them ;
and we have gathered the same class
from Europe, for very few indeed of
those who have obeyed the Gospel
have ever been the possessors of any
wealth. We have taken the poor and
the ignorant from the dens and caves
of the earth and brought them here,
and we have labored day and night,
week after week, and year after year,
to make ourselves comfortable, and
to obtain all the knowledge there is
in the world, and the knowledge that
comes from God, and we shall con-
tinue to do so. We shall take the
weak and the feeble and bring them
up to the standard that God requires.
The Gospel of lile and salvation does
not reduce those who obey it to
beggary j but it takes the poor and
the ignorant, makes them wise and
happy, and surrounds them with the
comforts of life and everything de-
sirable, and teaches them to serve
God with all their hearts.
This, gentlemen, is our doctrine,
faith, and practice; and we wish
strangers to understand that we did
not come here out of choice, but
because we were obliged to go some-
where*, and this was the best place we
could find. It was impossible for
any person to live here unless he
labored hard and battled and fought
.against the elements, but it was a
first-rate place to raise Latter-day
Saints, and we shall be blessed in living
here, and shall yet make it like the
Garden of Eden ; and the Lord
Almighty will hedge about his Saints
and will defend and preserve them if
they will do his will. The only fear
I have is that we will not do right;
if we do we will be like a city set on
j a hill, our light will not be hid. I
trust that the time will soon come
when, in all things, our conduct will
be such that all the world might
pattern after us with advantage. I
can say that at the present time we
I are far from that* It is sometimes
said by strangers, " Wc suppose you
Latter-day Saints consider yourselves
perfect, don't you f " I answer, not
by any means ; we are as imperfect
as a people ought to be, and a little
more soj
I wish that what Brother George
Q. said of you wns true — that you
were all obedient to your President*
If you all will be, you will cease
sinriinjr, tattling, lying, backbiting,
and strife, all will be industrious, pru-
dent, faithful and full of wisdom and
good works, and the power of God
will be upon us more and more, and
we will be able to do more good to
the inhabitants of the earth. We
have no quarrel with anybody. We
exchange ideas, but we will not con-
tend. As I used to say to the min-
isters, when travelling and preaching,
" I will not dispute. If you want
122
JOURNAL OF DISCOURS;
the truth I will give it you ; and if
you have a truth that I have not, I
want all you have ; but contention is
not my calling; it is no part of the
Gospel of Christ ; that is peace, life,
light, and salvation/ The Lord has
given that to me and you, and you
are welcome to it"
I wanted to say these few words to
you. I thank you for your patience.
God bless you. Amen.
DISCOURSE BY ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON,
Delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 8, 1871*
(Reported by David W. Evans,)
THE BUILDING OF TEMPLES— THE KEYS OF THE AFOSTLESHIP.
I will read a portion of Scripture
which is fonnd in the 17th chapter of
the First Book of Chronicles, com-
mencing at the 3rd verse —
"And it came to pass the same
night that the word of God came to
Nathan, saying,
" Go and tell David my servant,
Thus saith the Lord, Thou eh alt not
build me an house to dwell in :
"For I have not dwelt in an house
since the day that I brought up Israel
until this day ; but have gone from
tent to tent, and from one tabernacle
to another*
" Wheresoever I have walked witli
all Israel, spake I a word to any of
the judges of Israel, whom I com-
manded to feed my people, saying,
Why have ye not built me an house
of cedars ?
"Now therefore thus shalt thou
say unto my servant David, Thus
saith the Lord of hosts, I took thee
from the sheepcote, even from follow-
ing the sheep, that thou should est be
ruler over my people Israel :
" And I have been with thee whi-
thersoever thou hast walked, and have
cut off all thine enemies from before
thee, and have made thee a name like
the name of the great men that are
in the earth.
m Also I will ordain a place for my
people Israel, and will plant them,
and they shall dwell in their place,
and shall be moved no more ; neither
shall the children of wickedness waste
them any more, as at the beginning.
- " And since the time that I com-
manded judges to be over my people
Israel. Moreover, I will subdue all
th ine enemies. Furthermore, I tell
thee that the Lord will build thee a
house.
u And it shall come to pass, when
thy days be expired that thou must
go to to be with thy fathers, that I
will raise up thy seed after thee,
which shall be of thy sons; and I
will establish his kingdom.
" He shall build me an house, and
I will stabtish his throne for ever.
"I will be his father, and he shall
be my son ; and I will not take my
mercy away from him, as I took it
THE BUILDING OF TEMPLES, ETC
12a
from him that was before thee :
" Bnt I will settle him in mine
house and in my kingdom for ever;
and his throne shall be established
for evermore.
'* According to all these words, and
according to all this vision, so did
Nathan speik unto David."
There is one point, brethren and
sisters, in the passages I have just
read in your hearing, to which I wish
to call your attention — namely, the
pleasure that was evinced by the
Lord at the disposition which David
manifested — a disposition which none
of his predecessors, apparently, had
exhibited, to buiM unto the Lord of
hosts a bouse, a temple, a place npon
and within which his glory could
rest. So pleased appeared the Lord
to be with this disposition of David
that he promised him that he would
establish his dynasty, that his son
should reign after him, and that this
son should be the instrument in his
hands of building a glorious temple
unto his name. The reasons are
given in other portions of Scripture
why the Lord did not accept this
offering on the part of David. The
Lord, in one place, alludes to his life,
saying that he had been a man of war
and blood ; that he had gone forth
and fought his enemies, and because
of this the Lord was not deposed to
accept his offer, but he promised
David that be would raise up a son
after him who should be a man of
peace — a man free from war and
blood, and that during his lifetime
his temple should be reared ; and,
according to the prediction of the
Lord God, through Nathan the Pro-
phet, Solomon was raised up and did
accomplish the work which his father
David had desired to do, and he did
rear a temple unto the name of the
Lord upon and within which his glory
rested and was manifested ; and the
blessing of God rested upon Solomon
so long as he continued to serve with
a perfect heart the Lord God of his
fathers. Israel was also greatly
blessed and prospered in rearing that
house; and though Solomon, in his
prayer, when dedicating it, said how
was it possible that God could take
up his residence npon earth, when,
the heavens, and the heaven of heavens
could not containjrim, still God did
condescend to manifest his glory in
that house to such an extent that the
priests could not endure it; and the
blessings of Gcd rested visibly, in the
presence of the people, upon that
house, and they knew that he had
accepted their labors and tlie ded
tion of their means for the erection
of a house to his name.
This labor appeals to us in a very
peculiar manner. There is no people
or community on the face of the earth
to-day, except the Latter-day Saints,
who think of rearing unto the Lord
of Hosts a temple upon the same
principle and for the same objects
and ends that the temple was reared
in Jerusalem. Already we have
completed two temples, and laid the
foundation of five. The Saints are
all familiar with the history of the
building of the temple of Kirtland>
whether they were there personally
or not; tbey are also familiar with
the blessed results which followed its
erection. They know that God did
manifest himself to his servants and
people in a very peculiar manner, and
poured out upon them great and pre-
cious blessings; many ordinances
which had been lost to man, or of
which he scarcely knew anything,
and for the administration of which
there had been no authority upon the
earth for generations, were restored,
and men and women received ordi-
nances, promises and blessings which
comforted their hearts and encouraged
them in the work of God. And not
only were these ordinances adminis-
124 JOURNAL OF
tiered, but additional authority was
bestowed upon the prophet of God
who stood at the head of this dis-
pensation. And so also the completion
of the temple at Nauvoo brought
many blessings ; that is, so far as it
was completed, for the enemies of
God's kingdom did not permit us to
complete it entirely ; bnt so far as it
was completed God accepted the labor
of the hands of his servants and
people, and great and precious bless-
ings were bestowed upon the Church
of Jesus Christ ot Latter-day Saints
for the faithfulness and diligence of
its members in rearing that house.
I have often thought of the short-
ness of the period, after the death of
Joseph, which was continued in build-
ing that house. He died, as you well
know, or was murdered, on the 27th
of June, 1844 Before 1845 had
passed away tlie Saints were receiving
their endowments in that house. The
walls were completed, it was roofed,
the spire finished, and the upper
story so far completed that the Elders
could go in and administer in the
ordinances of God's house — the seal-
ings, washings and anointings, and in
the performance of those ct reraonies
and ordinances which were necessary
for our growth, increase and perfec-
tion as a people; and when it is
recollected that ail this was done in a
very short period over one year, it
bears testimony to the zeal of the
Saints and the mighty exertions they
made to fulfil the word of God and
the requirements he made of us as a
people, that we and our dead might
not be rejected. But we were not
permitted to enjoy that house, we were
not permitted to continue receiving
blessings there ; the enemies of God's
kingdom were upon us, and we were
compelled to abandon it and our
homes, and it fell a sacrifice to the
wickedness of the wicked and it was
burned with fire— probably a better
DISCOURSES.
fate than to have it stand and be
defiled by the wicked.
We have now to commence again
the erection of another temple. For
many years the foundation of one on
this block has been laid, and the
Saints have labored upon it to some
extent ; but it has not been pushed
forward with very great rapidity.
There have oeen reasons for this —
gcod and weighty reasons. It is
desirable when we build another
temple that it should not fall into
the hands of the wicked, as th jsc we
have already built have done; but
that it should stand as an enduring
monument of the faith, zeal mid per-
severance of the Latter-d y Saints, in
which the ordinances of God*s huuse
and kingdom may be administered
through all coming time. There
seems to be a spirit now resting upon
tbeservants of God to push this house
forwaid to its completion j and I
doubt not that this spirit will be
received and cherished by the Saints
throughout Utah Territory, and
throughout the world. Judging by
my own feelings on this suhjt*ct and
by the expressions of those who have
alluded to it, I confidently believe
that a spirit is resting upon the
people to receive the counsel that is
given concerning it, and to carry for-
ward the work to a speedy completion.
There are many reasons why we
should do it. It is true that God, in
his mercy, has permitted us to build
another house, which we call the
Endowment House, and in which we
have received many ordinances and
blessings ; but there are several which
cannot be attended to in the Jindow-
raent Bouse; they must be postponed
until a temple is completed, in which
the Elder3 and men of God who bear
the Holy Priesthood, can go and
administer the things of God, and
have them accepted by him. This,
of itself, is sufficient to stir us up, as
THE BUILDING OF TEMPLES, ETC.
a people, to exceeding great diligence
in pushinof forward this work.
When David announced his inten-
tion to prepare the means for the
budding of the bouse that should be
erected by his son Solomon, he accu-
mulated every thing thai; could be
prepared beforehand, so that when
Solomon should come to the throne
after his decease, he might be full-
handed and have abundance where-
with to commence the labor of
building. To accomplish this, David
called upon Israel to come forward
and exert themselves, and they did
so, so we fire told, and had exceeding
great jny in contributing of their
means for the erection of that build-
ing Of course there is no objection
to the Latter-day Saints doing the
same; ? till, that requirement is not
mad** of us at the piesent time. All
that we are required to do is to obey
the law that God has given unto us,
that is, to pay our tithing. It has
been said, and I do not doubt the
correctness of the statement, in fact,
I mny say [ am fully aware and con-
scious df it, that if this people would
pay one-tenth of their tithing this
temple could be pushed forward to
completion very speedily. As a
people we have been very negligent
in paving our tithing; there are
do ni>t less marry exceptions, hut as a
rule we have not complied with that
law with the strictness which we
should have done. Now, however,
there is an opportunity for us to
compensate for our shortcomings in
the past, and to go to with zeal and
energy to tear this house, so that there
ma) Lk* a temple of Clod in our midst
in which ordinances can he adminis-
tered lor the living and for the dead.
I fully believe that when that temple
is once flushed there will be a power
and manifestations of trie goodness of
God unto this people such as they
have never before experienced. Every
125
work of this kind that we have accom-
plished has been attended with in-
creased and wonderful results unto
us as a people — an increase of power
and of God's blessings upon us. It
was so in Kirtland and at Nauvoo ;
at both places the Elders had an
increase of power, and the Saints,
sinpe the completion of, and the ad-
ministration of ordinances in, those
buildings have had a power they
never possessed previously.
If any proof of this is needed let
us reflect upon the wonderful de-
li verances that God has wrought, out
for us since we left Illinois. Up to
that period or up to the time that
the temple was partly finished and
the blessings of God bestowed within
its walls, our enemies to a very great
extent had triumphed over us. We
had been driven from place to place ;
compelled to flee from one town,
county and State to another ; but how
great the change since then ! Wo
started out a poor, friendless people,
I with nothing but God's hlessing upon
us, his power ovei shadowing us and
his guidance to lead us in the wilder-
ness; and from the day that we
crossed the Mississippi river until this
day — the 8th of April, 1871 — we
have had continued success and
triumphs. God h;>s signally delivered
us from the hands of our enemies,
and when it has seemed as though we
would be overwhelmed, as though no
earthly power could succor or deliver
ns from the hands of those who
sought our overthrow, God has done
I for us as he did tor his ancient
covenant people, when he caused the
waters of the Red Sea to sej a rate,
that they might pass through and
escape the destruction their enemies
threatened. So have we been in as
remarkable a manner delivered from,
apparently, overwhelming difficulty
and danger.
Whence, I ask, my brethren and
126 JOURNAL OF
Bisters, has this power come ? Whence
has it been derived ? I attribute it
to the blessings and the power and
the authority and the keys which
God gave unto his Saints, and which
he commenced to give in the Temple
at Nauvoo. The Elders of Israel
there received keys, endowments and
authority which they have not failed
to exercise in times of extremity and
danger; and clouds have been scat-
tered and storms blown over, and
peace and guidance, and all the
blessings which have been desired
have been bestowed upon the people,
according to the faith that has been
exercised. Others may attribute
these things to other causes ; but 1
attribute them to this, and I feel to
give God the glory ; and I trace these
deliverance** to the power that the
Elders received in that temple and
previously. I fully believe also, as I
have said, that when this and other
temples are completed, there will be
an increase of power bestowed upon
the people of Godf and that they will,
thereby, be better fitted to go forth
and cope with the powers of darkness
and with the evils that exist in the I
world and to establish the Zion of
God never more to be thrown down.
I know that there is a feeling in
the breasts of many people that this
sort of thing is fanaticism. This is
characteristic of the age of unbelief
in which we live. God, in the minds
of this generation, is removed far from
them. He dwells at an illimitable
distance from man, and is not sup-
posed to interfere with his affairs.
Man, they think, is left to work out
deliverance and salvation according
to his own wisdom ; and there are a
great many people, and it mi\y be
said, a great many nations, who do
not believe that God interferes at all
with matters on the earth. They
think of and speak about him ; bat it
is mere form and tradition with them ;
DISCOURSES.
very few believe that he interferes
directly with the affairs of men. Of
course when such a belief is prevalent,
or rather when such unbelief prevails,
the idea of building a temple or
temples to the Most High God, in
which ordinances shall be performed
for the living and the dead, strikes
the people as something strange and
fanatical But, let me ask, what was
the object of building a temple in the
days of Solomon ? What was the
object of rebuilding it after its de-
struction by Nebuchadnezzar? Why
was it that Ezra and the Jews who
were him in Babylonish captivity
were strengthened to go forth to
rebuild the temple of God at Jeru-
salem ? We read in the Scriptures
that God's blessing rested upon them.
Their enemies, it is true, harrassed
them and did all in their power to
check their labors, but nevertheless
they were exceedingly blessed, and
God accepted their work and bestowed
choice and peculiar blessings upon
them.
When Jesus came the temple still
stood in Jerusalem, but it had become
defiled. He was so angered on one
occasion on this account that he took
a scourge of cords and beat , out the
money changers and others who had
defiled it, and upset their tables, and
in this visible manner showed his
anger at the defilement of his Father's
house.
We read in the revelations that
the time will come when the taber-
nacle of God will be with men on
the earth. How shall we, as men
and women, piepare for this? One
of the prophets says, " And the Lord
whom ye seek shall suddenly come to
his Temple," showing that there will
be, at some period or other, a temple
or temples built on the earth to which
God will come.
I have often thought, in reflecting
on this subject, how careless mankind
THE BUILDING OF TEMPLES, ETC.
127
are in relation to the fntore. We
are born on the earth, where family
relationships that are most desirable
are formed. Parents have their
children whom they love beyond
expression. These children grow up
and form associations in life and raise
families, and these relationships are
the most tender known to the human
heart There is nothing so much
calculated to make life desirable as
the relation of parents to children
and children to parents, husbands to
wives and wives to husbands ; and I
many a man when he loses his partner,
loses all the hope that he has; his
heart sinks within him, and he feels
as if life was undesirable ; and in- |
stances are not rare of men, through
grief on this account, having their
lives shortened. And so with the
other sex; sometimes through the
loss of a husband a woman's heart
will break and she goes down to an
early grave. And yet, in the midst
of the world where all these tender
ties and emotions exist there is no
preparation for their perpetuation.
The people do not believe that they
exist beyond the grave. Imagine, if
you can, a state of things where all
these relationships are utterly de-
stroyed and all mingle in one common
herd ! This is the kind of heaven
that many people believe they are
going to. I have heard ministers
say, " 0, 1 will not know any relation-
ship between myself and my wife
hereafter ; she, then, will be no nearer
to me than any other woman, nor I
to her than any other man; our
children will be no nearer to us than
any other children, and we will live
in this condition throughout the end-
less ages of eternity/' This is a
dreary prospect for any human being
who has the affection of a husband,
wife, parent or child — a dreary pros-
pect for that endless eternity to which
we are all hastening.
Bnt God, in ancient days, gave
certain authority unto one of hia
Apostles — namely, Peter. He gave
to him authority to bind on earth,
and it should be bound in heaven;
to loose on earth and it should be
loosed in heaven. Where is this
authority now ? Shall we go to the
Roman Catholic Church to find it?
If it be there it is not exercised. Shall
we go to the Episcopal Church to
find it ? If it be there they fail to
proclaim it Where shall we go to
find a man who has authority to bind
on earth and it is bound in heaven,
as Jesus told Peter? Where shall
we find a man whose acts will be
thus recognized of God, and whose
performances or solemnizations are
confirmed by the heavens themselves ?
You travel throughout all the earth
and mingle with the various sects
who claim to be the descendants of
the Apostles, and you will look in
vaic for any claims to such authority.
But come among the Latter-day
Saints, who claim to be the original
Church restored to the earth again,
who claim to have the authority of
the Apostleship — the same Apostle-
ship that was exercised by Peter,
James, John and the other Apostles,
and you will find the authority to
bind and loose on earth and it will be
bound or loosed in heaven, claimed
and exercised in their midst. It ia
claimed by the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints that God
has restored the keys of the Apostle-
ship ; that he has restored the author-
ity by which the ordinances shall be
performed on the earth that will bind
man to woman, woman to man,
children to parents and parents to
children, so that these relationships
which are so acceptable in the sight
of God may not only exist for time,
but may be perpetuated throughout
the endless ages of eternity.
This is the claim the Latter-day
128 , JOURNAL OF
Saints make, and it is the authority
they exercise, To claim the Apostle-
ship and authority without claiming
and exercising its functions would be
altogether contrary to the spirit and
power of that office and authority
when it was upon the earth in ancient
day^ ; therefore we wish to rear
temples and administer ordinal ices,
looking, as we do, upon this life as a
state of probation in which we may
gain experience and prepare ourselves
for higher exaltation and a greater
degree o! felicity in the world to come.
We build temples and weadminisler
and submit to ordinances and perform
those things within them which will
prepare us to dwell eternally with our
God, with Jesus and the Apostles in
the heavens. There each man will
have his family and kingdom. It is
said that God is Lord of lords and
King of kings; but how can lie be
King of kings unless there be kings
under him to give him homage and
pay respect untu him and acknowledge
him as their Lot d and their King ?
When God led f« rth Abraham and
told him that as the stars of the
firmament were innumerable so should
his seed be, be proclaimed to him the
greatness of his kingdom in eternity.
He told Abraham that be should be
a king over this innumerable host ;
for if Abraham were not to be king
over them, of what use or glory would
his posterity be to him ? When God
pointed Abraham to the sand on the
sea shore and told him that as it whs
countless so should his seed be, he
told him in accents that could not be
mistaken ot the future glory of his
eternal kingdom. And if all man-
kind attained to the same promises
as Abraham, they also would have an
innumerable posterity to reign over.
As the prophet says concerning our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, *' To
the increase of his kingdom there
shall be no end/1 It shall go on
DISCOURSES.
increasing with every cycle of eternity,,
as long as time endures. There shall
be no end to the increase of his king-
dom. His glory consisted of this;
and the glory of God consists in the
number of his posterity; and as
generation succeeds generation, until
the earth is filled and glorified, other
worfds will be rolled into existence,
upon which the posterity of God,
our heavenly Father, shall increase
throughout, the endless ages of eternity.
As it was said to Abraham and
Jesus, so it will be said to the faithful
sons and daughters of God ; hence
the Latter-day Saints believe in the
eternal nature of the marriage rela-
tion. When we marry there is a
power here io bind on earth and it is
bound in heaven. Men and women
are married to each other for time
and for all eternity ; not as it is in
the world, H uutd death shall them
part;" but that tie shall be as endur-
ing as eternity itself, and there shall
never be a time when it shall be
dissolved ; and to their increase there
shall be HQ end, for this is the glory
of God, and this is the blessing; of
God upon his faithful children. The
godlike powtr has been given us here
on the earth to bear and perpetuate
our own species ; and shall this power,
which brings so much joy, peace and
happiness, be confined and limited to
this short life? It is folly to talk
about such a thing; common sense
teaches us better. It teaches that we
have been organized, not for time
alone ; that we have been endowed as
we aret in the image of God, not for
thirty, forty, fifty, seventy or a
-.hundred yeara, but as eternal beings,
exercising our endowments and tunc-
tions for all eternity, if we live faithful
qv take a course that God approves.
Therefore there is great sense, beauty
and godliness in the idea that God
taught Abraham with respect to
his posterity becoming as numer-^
THE CHARACTER OF THE SAVIOR, ETC.
129
ons as the stars of the firmament
j^The Latter-day Saints live for this,
We look upon this life as a very short
period of titna We have suffered
and are likely to suffer as the Saints
of God did anciently ; and this life
is a state of probation — a short period
filled with sorrow. Difficulties, thorns,
briars3 brambles, and obstacles of
various kinds beset our pathway;
but, as was said yesterday, we look
forward to a heavenly city, whose
builder and maker Is God, We look
forward to the time when this earth
will be redeemed from corruption and
cleansed by fire ; when there shall be
a new heaven and a new earth, and
when the Saints shall possess their
native inheritance purified from sin,
redeemed from corruption, with the
power of Satan curtailed, and when
we shall be able to increase and mul-
tiply and fill this earth, go to other
earths and carry on the work of
emigration through the endless ages
of eternity.
This is a little of the heaven that
the Latter-day Saints look forward
to. It is not a heaven where all
distinctions are abolished — where
parents and children are mingled with
the common mass, where wives and
husbands are undtstinguishable ; but
where all these ties exist and are
preserved and perpetuated, $nd man
goes forward on that heavenly career
which God, his Heavenly Father, has
assigned to him, and which he designs
that all his faithful children shall
walk in. These are some, of the
reasons why we want a temple btiilt.
There are innumerable reasons why
we should go to witl^ our might and
rush forward this work* Let us push
it to its completion as speedily ad
may be required, and God will bless
us; he will make our feet fast in
these valleys ; he will give us increase
and make of us a mighty nation,
Already he has set his seal upon us ;
already he has given us the glorious
privilege of bearing his name. Let
us rear a house upon which his glory
shall rest, and that shall be called by
his name. This is required at our
hands ; and that God may help us to
accomplish it, and keep us faithful to
the end, is my prayer in the name of
Jesus, Amen.
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT BEIGHA1I YOUNG,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake Cist, Sttnday MoakinGj
May 21, 1871.
(Reported by David W* Evans.)
THE CHARACTER OF THE SAVIOR — THE POWER OF THE PRIESTHOOD —
THE UNPARDONABLE SIN,
I feel to bear my testimony to the I hearing of the Gospel .of life and
truth as far as we have heard it to-day, , salvation, a subject which should
and to all troth. We have been interest the whole human family m
No. 9. Vol. XIV,
130
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES,
goon as they can become acquainted
with it, The subject of salvation
should occupy the thoughts and
reflections of every intelligent being.
The salvation and redemption wrought
out by the Savior is for us — it was
purchased for us. The character we
have been hearing of is our Savior
and Redeemer — the Savior of the
whole world of mankind, and of all
creatures peri {lining to the earth, and
the earth itself, for all will be re-
deemed by the blood of tbe Son of
God. We should have a part in this,
and we can say truly that we have a
part in it. Whether it will benefit
us as it might, depends upon our own
thoughts j reflections and actions —
upon our obedience to the require-
ments of our lather in heaven to
secure to us life everlasting. The
Father has done all he can do on his
part : He has niveu his only begotten
Son ; he has sent light into the world ;
he bestows his Spirit upon the chil-
dren of men; he lights up the under-
standing of evrry person that lives,
that ever did or ever will live upon
the earth* Christ is the light that
lights eveiy man that comes into the
world. We have this light, will we
improve on it?
. In my reflections on the Gospel of
life and salvation and the theories of
the children of men I have contrasted
the various beliefs, faiths, ordinances
and operations of the people who
profess to worship a Supreme Being.
Not only the Christians; fori do not
know of any nation on the earth but
what has some object which it wor-
ships as supreme, and to which it
renders adorat ion. This is the case
even with the heathen, although they
worship gods which their own hands
make. No matter about this, they
•re ignorant; but that spirit that
dwells in the children of men prompts
them to worship, adore, to seek after
that which will better their condition
and make themselves happy. This
is the condition of all the inhabitants
of the earth, whether Christian or
Pagan ; although the innate dispo-
sition to render homage to some in-
visible power as the Supreme Ruler
is modified and diversified according
to their varied traditions. The effects
of tradition ate as visible among
Christians as among heathens; and
these traditions, as well as our own
superior intelligence, lead us to regard
the worship of the heathen as non-
sensical, and we may say ridiculous.
We can have no faith in this; we see
no propriety in bowing down to gods
made with our own hands, whether
they be gods of gold, silver, wood or
stone. This would be folly iq the
extreme to persons who believe in the
New Testament: we sav we will
worship the Being who has redeemed
us, him who created us and all things
and who rules and governs all things
according to his good pleasure, whe-
ther in heaven or on earth. But will
we worship according to the direc-
tions that He has given? Will we
believe the doctrine that Jesus has
left on record in the New Testament,
or will we beli :ve in something that
varies from this?
We see that Christendom is full of
religion ; in fact the world is full of
it, no matter where wc go, I have
been brought up to believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ ; I am taught to
believe in him. Perhaps if I, my
parents before me, and the nation in
which 1 was bom and brought up had
never heard of his name, I would
treat it with as much indifference as
the heathen do when they hear of
it ; and yet if men did but understand
the light of Christ that is within
them it would prompt them, univer-
sally, to adore and admire, we will
say, the God of nature — him who has
created and formed the earth and all
things it contains, including us, who,
THE CHARACTER OF THE SAVIOR, ETC
131
in the image of oar Creator, dwell
upon and inhabit it. I say that, did
we all understand this light of Christ,
possessed by every human being when
born into the world, it would prompt as
to worship the God of nature; and did
we heed it as we ought we would not
be likly to come to the conclusion that
there is no personal God.
Among the remarks made here this
morning was one worthy the notice of
every intelligent being, and that was
that if we do not understand the
mysteries of the being of our Creator,
shall we deny it ? Shall we deny
the existence of that which we do
not understand ? If we do, we would
want to keep an iron bedstead to !
measure every person according to
our own measurement and dimensions; '
and if persons were too long we would
cut them off, and if too short draw
them out, But we should discard
this principle, and our motto should
be, we will let every one believe as
he pleases and follow out the convic-
tions of his own mind, for all are free
to choose or refuse; they are free to
serve God or to deny him. We have
the Scriptures of divine truth, and
we are free to believe or deny them, 1
But we shall be brought to judgment !
before God for all these things, and 1
shall have to give an account to him
who has the right to call us to an
account for the deeds done in the
body.
What shall we believe, then, when
we reflect upon and consider all these
things ? Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, Who can object to him ?
When his character is set forth in its
true light what fault can be found
with him ? I have no question, as
an individual, but that the Jews
believed they saw a great many
defects in the Savior, I would just
as soon believe that the ignorant
wicked can see no defects in the
character of a modern prophet as to
believe that the Jews could see none
in the Savior, I have had the privi-
lege, in my lifetime, of reading some
of the writings which have been pre-
served and handed down by the Jews,
which contained their description of
the Savior's character, and certainly,
nothing could be more ridiculous;
and I remember that, on one occasion,
when talking to the Prophet Joseph
about these things, I said to him,
u No matter what they say about you,
1 will defy mortal man to say woise
about a modern prophet than the
Jews have said about the Savior;"
and that the character of the Redeemer
presented no defects whatever to the
eyes of those among whom he lived,
is what I would not say. ] I may say,
however, that men who did not believe
in him looked through prejudiced
eyes, and hence they were unable to
view him in his true light; and no
man who has ever lived on the earth
was more ridiculed and traduced than
he was. But when we, that is, the
Christian world, read an account of
his character and doings, not the
least blemish or defect is seen ; it
might be different, however, if he
were here in our midst. Suppose that
he or his Apostles were to walk
through Christendom, preaching the
Gospel without purse or scrip, do you
think that if they tried to gain ad-
mission to the pulpits in the churches
of places of worship which have been
erected in their honor, and called the
churches of the Savior, or of St.
Matthew, John, Paul, Peter, Bar-
tholomew and so on, that they could
gain admittance ? Let reason, guided
and enlightened by the conduct of
the .people, answer, and it will give
the negative at once to every building
of this kind erected in Christendom ;
so far as my knowledge extends, this
would be the result except among the
Latter-day Saints. Perhaps some
may say that I have too much faith
132 JOURNAL OF
in the prophecies of God, in the latter-
day work, and in the administration
of individuals that now live and have
lived on the earth in our day. Be it
so, no matter to me, I am here to
testify in the name of the God of
Israel thfit for many years past there
have been men travelling through the
length and breadth of the earth who
possess the same power and authority
as that with which Jesus endowed
his Apostles when he told them to
go into all the world and " preach
the Gospel to every creature, and he
that belie veth and is baptized shall
be saved, but he that believeth not
shall be damned, and these signs shall
follow them that believe. In my
name they shall cast out devils,
heal the sick, speak with new ton-
gues/* &c.
I am a witness here, to-day, that
these sayings and promises have been
fullilled in these latter days as much
as they were in the days of the Savior,
Have the dead been brought to life ?
Yes, or those who, to all appearance,
were dead, and this is so to my certain
knowledge ? But were they dead ?
No, they were not. What did Jesus
say to his disciples and those who
followed him to the grave of Lazarus,
when they were mourning and bewail-
ing, and beseeching him to say the
word only and it should be done P
Jesus said, "He is not dead, but
sleepetb,,! So it has been in these
latter days. To all appearance life
and breath had departed, but they
yet lived, and some who, under such
circumstances, were restored by the
power of God, are still living. The
eyes of the blind have been opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped ;
the lame have been made to leap, and
foul spirits have been cast out. Has
this been the case in every instance ?
Not by any means, neither was it in
the days of the Savior, They who
have faith receive these blessings if
DISCOURSES,
they live according to the spirit of
the holy Gospel.
- Is there any harm in preaching and
believing in such doctrines, and realiz-
ing the blessings ? I often ask myself
this question, but I fail to see harm
or impropriety therein. I know that
some say we can be saved without a
Savior. If parties like to believe this,
all right; but if we can be saved
without, we certainly can with. Some
will say we can be saved without
believing in baptism ; very well, we
surely can be then if we do believe
in it Some say we can be saved
just as well without having hands laid
on for the reception of the Holy Ghost
as with ; if we can be saved without
we certainly can be with- If an
Elder of Israel lay his hands upon
us and say, " Receive ye the Holy
Ghost," there is not the least harm
in it ; it is conferring a blessing. ** I
desire to bless you," says the Elder,
"ai d if I had power I would bless
you ; and according to the faith in
me I do dispense the Holy Spirit to
you," It is a blessing pure as the
angels in heaven. If I say to the
sick, " Be healed and blessed," or bid
foul spirits, pain, fever or any disease
whatever, " Depart," it is a blessing
to the patient, and there is not the
least harm in it in the world. And
now, suppose the Elders of this Church
have power to say, '* Receive ye the
Holy Ghost," and the Holy Ghost is
given, is there any harm in it ? Not
the least in the world ; and if we can
be saved without these things we
certainly can with, so we are on sure
ground/] Suppose that we can be
I saved without doing precisely as the
Savior has told us, we most certainly
shall be by observing what he has
left on record for our salvation. But
he has said that not one jot or tittle
of his word or of the law shall pass
without being fulfilled ; and it is no
matter whether he speaks by his own
THE CHARACTER OF THE SAVIOR, ETC*
133
voice, by the voice of an angel, or
through his faithful servants here on
the earth, all the words of the Lord
Almighty will certainly be fulfilled ;
then if we believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ and comply with all the re-
quirements of his Gospel we are on
safe ground,
If it is acceptable in the eight of
Heaven for a minister to dip his
finger in water contained in a gold,
silver or marble vase, and then wet
the forehead of the child or the adult,
and call this baptism, where can be
the harm in going down into the
waters of baptism as Jesus did, and
as the eunncb did ? I say where is
the harm in being buried with Christ
in baptism ? I cannot see the least
harm in it, Then if we are safe
without baptism for the remission ot
sins, we are certainly safe with it*
If we are safe without having hands
laid upon ns for the reception of the
Holy Ghost, we are certainly safe
with it; if we are saved without
having the gift of faith to heal the
sick or cast oat devils, we are as-
suredly saved with. Then where is
the danger of those who believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ and keep his
commandments ?
The cry of the Christian world is
» The Bible, the Bible," bnt who will
believe it ? who will believe that
Jesus is the Christ, that he is the Son
of God and the express image of his
Father ? But a few will believe
these things, and yet the salvation
that Jesus has purchased will reach
the whole human family and save, in
a kingdom or in some place where
they will enjoy to the extent of their
capacity, those who reject not the
Gospel and despise not the Savior.
Those who set at naught the counsels
of God are the only ones the Gospel
will not reach and save in a kingdom.
Bnt who will go into the celestial
kingdom ? Those who obey the
Gospel of the Son of God, and then
walk in all humility before the Lord
and keep his commandments in all
things. They are the ones who will
enter in at the strait gate. Jesus
said, " Strait is the gate and narrow
is the way that leads to life** — that
is onr translation; the original is,
" that leads to the lives " — " and few
there be that find it ; while broad is
the gate and wide is the way that
leads to destruction, and many there
be that go in thereat." Many will
there be who will miss receiving the
blessings and being caught up with
Christ in the air, and being saved in
the presence of the Father and the
Son, that now anticipate enjoying the
glory, excellency and exaltation which
God has prepared for the faithful.
The inquiry arises with a great
many, " What are you going to do
with all the rest of the human family,
are yon going to send them to hell ?"
I will answer the question as Joseph
once did when a person asked him,
" Will everybody be damned except
the Latter-day Saints ?" " Yes," said
Joseph, "and many of them, unless
they take a different course from what
they are now taking." Who will be
saved in the celestial kingdom, and
go into the presence of the Father
and Son ? Those only who observe
the whole law, who keep the com-
mandments of God — those who walk
in newness of life, observe all his
precepts and do his will. Are we
going to send all the rest to hell ?
Not the sectarian hell, pardon the
expression* The wicked, we are told,
will be turned into hell, with all the
nations that forget God, and that is
very true. But where is hell ? Read
for yourselves. What is bell ? Read
for yourselves. You may call it hell,
hades, or the world of spirits. It is
where Jesus went and preached to
the spirits in prison. All who have
not received the Gospel, who have
134
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES,
not had the advantages result ing from
strict obedience to the ordinances, are
there subject to the evil power, to the
principle of death. There they will
reside who have denied the Lord
Jesus Christ ; but they will be resur-
rected and will receive their bodies
again ; but blessed and holy is he on
whom the second death hath no power.
On many it will have power; but
what propoition of the whole human
family from the days of Adam to the
last born on the earth will become
angels of the devil and will reap the
wrath of God and endure it for ever
and ever, it ia not fur me to gay ; but
none will, save those who have sinned
against the Holy Ghost, Who is
able to do this ? that is the question.
I will tell you of one man who could
have committed this sin.
We read in the days of the Apostles
of a certain man named Cornelius, a
devout man and one who worshipped
the Lord according to the light he
possessed. As he was once praying
in his house, the Holy Ghost tell
upon him, and he and his household
rejoiced exceedingly. What was the
word of the Lord to Cornelius under
these circumstances ? Was it u You
are saved, you are just right, you can
build up churches, you can show the
people that they can be saved, and
can receive the Holy Ghost without
the laying on of hands ?" No, the
word of the Lord to Cornelius was,
"Send men to Joppa, and call for
one Simon, whose surname is Peter;
he lodgeth with one Simon a tanner,
whose house k by the seaside; he
shall tell thee what thou oughtest to
do/1 Cornelius sent to Joppa, and
just before his messengers reached
the house at which Simon lodged, he
had had a vision in which a sheet
descended from heaven, in which were
all manner of beasts and creeping
things of the earth ; and a voice said*
"Eise, Peter, kill and eat/' But
Peter said, " Not so} Lord, for I have
never eaten anything common or
unclean." And the voice said unto
him, " What God hath cleansed, that
call not thou common." At that
time the Gospel had been given to
the Jews only, and Peter and his
brethren had the idea that it was not
for the Gentiles; but this vision was
as much as to say, " I want to open
your eyes and show you that the
Gentiles as well as the Jews are to
receive and participate in the blessings
of the Gospel, Just as Peter awoke
from his vision there camera rap at
the door and the messengers of Cor-
nelius inquired fur him, and made
known to him their errand, and he
and some of bis brethren went down
and conversed with Cornelius, and
while doing so the Spirit of God
rested on them so powerfully that
they glorified God. The Jews who
were with Peter cominenetd, " Take
care, Peter, we do not like this; we
do not understand that the Gentiles
are to have the Gospel. The Savior
is the Savior of the Jews ; Jesus was
the king of the Jews only and not
the king of the Gentiles" Peter
commanded them to be still, Said
he, " Do you not see the pouring out
of the Spirit just as on Uie Day of
Pentecost, these people spenking with
\ new tongues and prophecying ;" and
said he, seeing that this is the CMse,
" Can any man forbid water that these
should not be baptized, which have
received the Holy Ghost as well as
we." Cornelius, if he had rejected
the testimony of Peter, would have
been led to reject the Holy Ghost,
which had fallen upon him, and oeen
lost
This was an instance in which the
Holy Ghost was given before baptism ;
there may be other cases in these
days, but if parties are thus favored
of the Lord, the outpouring of his
Spirit prompts them to send for an
THE CHARACTER OF THE SAVIOR, ETC.
Elder of Israel that they may be
baptized for the remission of their
sins. I do Dot know that it is recorded
that Cornelias received a remission
of sins before baptism. The quotation
has been read here from the Scrip*
t tires that except a man be born again
he cannot see the kingdom of God ;
and unless be be born of the water
and of the Spirit he cannot enter it ;
that is, no man can see and understand
the kingdom of God unless the Spirit
reveal it to him. When a person
receives the Holy Ghost he begins to
read the Bible understand ingly, It
is a new book to him. Is this fortu-
nate or unfortunate for him ? I will
say it is fortunate for those who^
receive the Gospel as preached by the
Latter-day Saints, when the Spirit of
the Lortl rests upon them. Such an
individual will say, " The Bible is a
new book to me, bless me; I never
read the principles understanding^
in my life before ; I could not under-
stand them, 1 never read the New
Testament, nor comprehended the
character of the Savior and his teach-
ings to his disciples as now ; although
I have read the Scriptures hundreds
of times they never were plain before."
The Spirit may rest upon many and
reveal to them the wonderful things
of God; but when it does it will
prompt them to obey the commands
of the Lord Jesus. Is this the fact ?
It is. Well, we will say it is very
fortunate for those who receive this
Gospel and the spirit of it in their
hearts, for it awakes within them a
desire to know and understand the
things of God more than they ever
did before in their lives, and they
begin to inquire, read and search, and
when they go to the Father in the
name of Jesus he will not leave them
without a witness.
When we go to the nations we sny,
II Receive ye the Gospel, treasure it
up in your hearts ; the Spirit is ready
to testify to you at any moment ; are
you ready to receive the Spirit ?" No
person need wait ; whenever the spirit
within him yields obedience to the
still small voice that whispers, £t This
is the way, walk ye in it," that Spirit
is ready in a moment to teach, guide
and direct him in the way of life and
salvation. If there is darkness, it is
the result of our own organization
and intelligence being beclouded and
far from the things of God. We
listen to the continual promptings of
the Man of Sin, when he says, " Do
not you submit to tho Lord, do not
inquire of the Lord ; do not ask for
the Spirit of the Lortl ; do not go to
the Father in the name of Jesus, or if
you do go, be very careful how you
go. Let reason take the stand with
you, let the words of your petitions
be dictated by the reason that is
within you, then you will be very
sure not to ask in the spirit of meek-
ness ! No, you should not yield your
manhood to any spirit to ask for
things you need, or that you may be
led, guided and preserved in the way
of truth/*
These are the promptings of the
devil; but when the spirit in man
yields obedience and brings the flesh
into subjection the Spirit of the Lord
is then ready to whisper to the in-
dividual, " This is the way, walk, ye
in it and such individuals can go
on their way rejoicing, regardless of
those who cry, *fc Lo ! here is Christ/*
or u Lo ! there is Christ " for the
Spirit will teach them that Jesus is
the Christ and that the Bible is true-
It may not all have been translated
aright, and many precious things may
have been rejected in the compilation
and translation of the Bible; but we
understand, from tke writings of one
of the Apostles, that if ail the sayings
aind doings of the Savior had been
written, the world could not contain
them. I will say that the world could
136
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES,
not understand them. They do not
understand what we have on record,
nor the character of the Savior, as
delineated in the Scriptures ; and yet
it is one of the simplest things in the
world, and the Bible, when it is
understood, is one of the simplest
hooks in the world, for, as far as it is
translated correctly, it is nothing but
truth, and in truth there is no mystery
save to the ignorant The revelations
of the Lord to his creatures are
adapted to the lowest capacity, and
they bring life and salvation to all
who are willing; to receive them.
They are so simple that the high-
minded and those lifted up in their
own estimation will say, " I cannot
get down so low as thai" If they
pray, they dare not ask for the things
they want. I have known a great
many individuals who dare not ask
God the Father in the name of Jesus
Christ if the doctrine ive prench is
true. They have a conviction within
them that it is true, and they say,
u If we ask we shall receive the wit-
ness we ask for, and then we shall
have no excuse whatever for not
obeying it" I have had it said to me,
4t I am sorry I have learned so much,
sorry I have bad so much revealed,
I wish I was as ignorant as I was a
few years ago/' What will be the
condition of such individuals? Ig-
norance will be their portion. Let
him that is ignorant remain ignorant
fit ill The Gospel will do them no
good ; but they who are honest before
the Lord, and ask in the name of
Jcsns, will receive a testimony, and
know that Jesus is the Christ Flesh
and blood will not reveal this to them,
neither will the sciences of the day;
it can only be known by the spirit of
revelation* ' The kingdom of God
and its mysteries are and can be
known only to him to whom God
reveals them, and I hope and pray
that we are or may be among that
number. It is very customary to
pray to the Lord, but in my petitions
I pray a great deal to the Latter-day
Saints, or those who profess to be.
When traveling and preaching I fre-
quently pray the people, in Christ's
stead, be ye reconciled to God. I
pray you, my hearers, to ask the
Father, in the name of Jesus, whether
these things be true or not I cannot
pray the Father that he will compel
yon to know ; it would be no use for
the Father to compel you to know
the truth. All must be willing to
ask for and receive it The fbunt&in
is open, truth is ready, its streams
are waiting and desirous to come and
testify to every individual on the
earth who is willing to be taught that
Jesus is the Christ, the Gospel is true,
God is true, life and salvation are
true. We are here upon this earth
— upon this little dark, opaque body ;
if we were in some of the celestial
kingdoms and were to look at this
earth it would not appear larger,
probably, than just a little speck, a
black marble ! Who can notice such
an insignificant affair ? God notices
this world. He organized it, and
brought forth the inhabitants upon it
We are his children, literally, spirit-
ually, naturally, and in every respect.
We are the children of our Father;
Jesus is our elder brother, ready to
save all who will come to him. By
and by the Lord will purify the earth,
and it will become pure and holy,
like a sea of glass ; then it will take
its place in the rank of the celestial
ones, and be recognized as celestial ;
but at the present time it is a dark,
little speck in space,
I pray the people and all who hear
me, be ye reconciled to God, and ask
for the things that you want. If you
want life and salvation, ask for it in
faith, humility and meekness. Be
willing to receive the truth let it come
from whom it may; no difference, not
THE FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY, ETC*
a particle. Just as soon receive the
Gospel from Joseph Smith as from
Peter, who lived in the days of Jesus,
Receive it from one man as soon as
another. If God has called an in-
dividual and sent him to preach the
Gospel that is enough for me to know ;
it is no matter who it is, all I want is j
to know the troth. This should be the
feelings and the hcartbeatings of every
individual that lives on the earth. If
we are endowed with intelligence we
can know and understaud things for
ourselves.
You have received the truth, Latter-
day Saints ; li ve it. You know it per.
fectly well. When a Latter-day Saint ■
says, I have sinned, will you forgive
me ? Did you sin knowingly ? Tell
the trnth and say " Yes," you sinned, ,
with your eyes wide open. When you
commit a wrong, after having deen
enlightened, you violate your own
judgment, and the convictions of the
spirit that is within you. Why not live
as we should ? We should be the best
people on the earth ; we have more
knowledge of the things of God and of
his purposes than the rest of the inha-
bitants of the earth that we have any
knowledge of. Then what manner of
persons should we be ? I do pray you
to live your religion, and pray God to
: bless you. Amen.
DISCOURSE BY ELDER ORSON PRATT,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, March 19, 1871.
(Reported by Julia Young.)
THE FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY— THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE CHT7BCH-
THE BOOK OF MORMON.
I will read a portion of the word
of God contained in the Soth Psalm :
" Lord thou hast been favorable
unto thy land ; thou hast brought
back the captivity of Jacob,
" Thou hast forgiven the iniquity
of thy people ; thou hast covered all
their sin. Selah.
" Thon hast taken away all thy
wrath ; thoa hast tamed thyself from
the fierceness of thine anger,
** Turn us, O God of our salvation,
and cause thine anger towards us to
** Wilt thou be angry with us for-
ever? w ill thou draw out thine anger
to all generations ?
"Wilt thou not revive us again,
that thy people may rejoice in
thee ?
*fi Shew us thy mercy, 0 Lord, and
grant us thy salvation,
" I will hear what God the Lord
will speak ; for he will speak peace
unto his people and to his Saints;
bat let them not turn again to folly.
" Surely his salvation is nigh them
that fear him ; that glory may dwell
in our land.
" Mercy and truth are met together;
138 JOURNAL OF
righteousness and pence have kissed
each other,
" Truth shall spring out of the
earth j and righteousness shall look
down from heaven.
" Yea, the Lord shall give thai
which is good ; and our land shall
yield her increase. j
u Righteousuess shall go before
htm; and shall set its in the way of
his steps."
This was a prayer and prophecy
uttered by the ancient Psalmist in
relation to the house of Israel, These
psalms were written by the inspiration
of the Holy Ghost, and most of them
were prophetic in their nature. David
was a man especiall}* inspired of the
Lord, not only to reign as king over
the house of Israel, but to utter forth
mKiiy predictions in the form of
psalms to be sung in the congregations
ot Israel. He clearly spoke concern-
ing the coming of the Messiah ; his
death, and the afflictions that should
come upon him as the Redeemer of
the world, and of many events in
connection with his coming, all of
which were fulfilled. He also spoke
in many psalms iu regard to the
preaching of the servants of God in
all nations, declaring the wonderful
works of God, He also spoke con-
cerning the second coming of this
Messiah, the great glory that would
be revealed on that grand occasion ;
he also spoke by the spirit of prophecy
concerning the down! all of the twelve
tribes of Israel and the great affliction
that would come upon them; also,
that the Lord would remember them
in the latter times, and bring them to
a knowledge of the truth.
This psaim which 1 have just read
contains a prayer, uttered by this
inspired man, for the redemption of
the covenant people of the LoixL That
he would not be angry with them
forever, that his anger might not be
drawn out towards them to all genera- !
DISCOURSES.
tions; that he would turn himself
from the fierceness of his wrath and
show mercy unto his people again.
The Lord saw proper, in answer to
that prayer, to inspire the Psalmist
to utter these words — u Mercy and
truth are met together, righteousness
and peace have kissed each other.
Truth shall spring out of the earth
and righteousness shall look down
from heaven. Yea, the Lord shall
give that which is good and our land
shall yield her increase* Righteous-
ness shall go before him and shall set
us in the way of his steps." -~
The Lord did not leave David in
uncertainty about the blessings that
should come upon hiscoveriant people;
he was informed, in the words which
I have repeated, that the Lord in-
tended again to bestow his blessings
after he had sufficiently punished
Israel; that he intended to bring
them back to their own land ; that he
intended to bless that land which was
given to them as an inheritance, and,
that that land should again yield its
increase to his people. But before
he would do tins he promised that
truth should spring out of the eatth,
and that at the same time righteous*
ness should look down from heaven ;
that truth should go before his face
and set his people in the way of his
_steps.
We live> Latter-day Saints, in the
age when this prophecy is being ful-
filled. We have lived to behold the
glorious period dawn upon this crea-
tion when God has condescended to
bring forth truth out of the earth,
and at the same time has manifested
his righteousness from heaven — that
is his law. I need not tell the Latter-
day Saints that are now before me
how this prophecy was fulfilled, for
they already understand it. There
may be strangers, however, in our
midst who do not understand these
things, as we understand them j and
THE FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY, ETC,
133
it may be well to briefly notice the
fulfillment of this prophecy as mani-
fested in the rise and progress of this
Church, This Church has an exist-
ence this day in consequence of the
fulfillment of their words. There
never would have been any such
pcoplo as the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints, unless God had
again manifested himself in fulfillment
of th is prophecy > He has seen proper
after so many generations have
passed, to spun reveal himself to the
children of men, although it was con-
trary to their opinions and ideas that
God would ever again speak to the
inhabitants of the earth. They con-
cluded that all communication from
the eternal worlds was shut off, that,
although there was a God and plenty
of angels and messengers in his pre-
sence, he would never send them
again to the inhabitants of our globe
to reveal anything nesv.
These have been the ideas of our
fathers for many generations that are
past.
The whole Christian world were
deluded with these ideas for some
seventeen or eighteen centuries.
The idea took its rise in the apos-
tate church that sprang op in the
daj s of the Apostles ; a church which
denied the spirit of revelation and
had the wickedness and audacity to
proclaim in the face and eyes of the
Bible that it needed no new revela-
tion; that it had sufficient. The
councils that were called towards the
close of the third and fourth centuries
of the Christian era concluded to
introduce laws and rules among the
church. The Greek and Catholic
churches excommunicated all persons
that woald believe in the God of
revelation.
They collected together various
manuscripts which they had picked
up in various parts of the earth, which
they called the fullness of the canon
of Scripture; then they passed a
decree that if any person should be
found believing anything except that
which was contained in their canon,
that he should not be permitted fall
fellowship in the church ; that he
should be disfellow shipped and anathe-
matized. This wicked and abominable
doctrine was handed down for a great
many generations in the Greek and
Eoman Catholic churches^ and will
be found throughout all their writings
— the writings of their most noted
archbishops. They declare that they
neither received nor believed in any
new revelation ; that their rule of
faith and practice was ancient Scrip-
ture ; that the church must be guided
by those ancient laws, and by the
traditions of their fathers— traditions
handed down from the days of the
Apostles to their day. Thus you see
all communication from the heavens
was cut off by their own decree ; they
were worse than the heathen. Nebu-
chadnezzar, a great heathen king
accustomed to worship idols all his
days, had not apostatized from the
true God as those professed Christians
had, for he believed in the God that
gave revelation. We have an account
in the Book of Daniel how the Lord
did reveal himself to that heathen
king in a dream. But he forgot the
dream and sent a proclamation to all
the wise men of Babylon to see if he
could find out an interpreter. He, at
length, found one in the person of
Daniel the Prophet, who gave the
king the dream that the God of
heaven had given him, also the in-
terpretation, and we have many in-
stances on record where ancient
heathen kings had not so far strayed
from the God of heaven but what
they could believe in new revelation ;
but we have the example before us
for many generations where people
who have assumed the name of Christ
disbelieved in new revelation, and
140
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES
persecuted those who believe in re-
ceiving any new communication.
Some two or three centuries ago
there was a great reformation in
Europe — a protestation against this
wicked, corrupt and abominable power
that had held sway under the name
of Christian,
They did reform from many of
their corrupt practices, and they had
power given to them, although per-
haps they did not understand it folly,
and the God of heaven did give power
to these reformers to bring about more
liberal principles; but they had to
do it through great persecution* They
succeeded, however, in building up
denominations which they called
Christian, that had forsaken, in some
measure the corruption of the mother
church. These reformers followed
the mother church in regard to
limiting their faith to ancient Scrip-
ture ; they would tell the people that
there was to be no more revelation.
John Calvin and Martin Luther held
the view, that there was to be no
more revelntion from heaven; that
the canon of Scripture was full. They
received this false dogma from the
mother church ; they could not find
it in the New Testament ; but it was
a tradition handed down by the
mother church that such was the fact.
Now, the devil did not particularly
care how many good principles people
retained, so long as they should deny
one of the most important principles
of heaven. Cut off communication
from the Lord, shut up the heavens,
keep angels out of the question con-
cerning any more new communication
to be given to the children of men,
and the devil has accomplished his
object. These falsehoods were handed
down, after the reformers came out,
in all the various denominations until
the present day, until the time when
the Lord, by the mouth of his holy
angels, called Joseph Smith and gave
unto him a knowledge by vision of
the place where the ancient records
of a portion of the Israeli tish nation
were deposited. At that period of
time there was scarcely a people on
the face of the whole earth but what
were more or less under the delusion
of this apostate doctrine. Mr, Smith,
however, was uncontaminated by these
traditions, as he was not a member of
any church ; this is manifest in the
prayer offered by this young man at
the time when the Lord first revealed
himself to him.
He went out to pray, being then a
little over fourteen years of age, in a
little grove not far from his father's
house. The great object which he
had in praying was to learn some few
principles, which he saw were abso-
lutely necessary to know, according
to his understanding, in order to serve
the true and living God. He desired
to know which, among all the denomi-
nations with which ho was surrounded,
was the true church.
It is not often that boys of this age
would be so exercised, but this was
the fact in regard to Joseph Smith,
He was uneducated ; he had not been
to college ; he was not trained in the
vices of all large cities ; but merely a
country boy accustomed to hard work
with his father. Probably one reason
why his mind was thus exercised was
in consequence of the religious excite-
ment existing in that neighborhood
at the time ; some of his own relatives
had joined the Presbyterian Church,
and he was earnestly sought after to
join himself with some church, and
his mind being somewhat wrought
upon, seeing many of his young
acquaintances turn to the Lord, he
greatly desired to know which was
the true church. It was a great
question ; he knew not how to satisfy
his mind, for he had not read the
Bible much. He heard a great many
different doctrines advocated by
THE FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY, ETC.
141
ministers respecting the different
denominations, which caused him to
read the Bible. He happened to fall
upon a certain passage contained in
the Book of James, "If any man lack
wisdom let him ask of God, who
giveth liberally and upbraideth not,"
This passage, when he read it, seemed
to sink with great weight upon his
mind. He thought it was his privi-
lege to go to the Lord and ask him
respecting the desired information.
As I told you before, he had not been
trained up in any of the creeds of the
existing denominations, and therefore
he was confiding enough to believe
what was here written, " If any irtan
lack wisdom," &c. He tho tight to
himself that he did lack wisdom, for
he did desire to know which was the
true church. He went into the grove
with a determination to claim this
promise. When he was thus praying
he saw a light which appeared to be
app road ling him from the heavens.
As it came nearer it seemed to grow
brighter until it settled upon the tops
of the trees. He thought it would
consume the leaves of the trees ; but
it gradually descended and rested
upon him* His m i nd w as i mined lately
caught away. He saw in this light
two glorious personages, one of whom
spoke to him, pointing to the other,
saying, " This is my beloved Son,
hear ye him." This was a glorious
vision given to this boy. When these
persons interrogated him to know
what he desired, he answered and
said, " Lord show me which is the
true church/' He was then informed
by one of these personages that there
was no true church upon the face of
the whole earth ; that the whole
Christian world, for many generations,
had been in apostacy ; that they had
denied communication and revelation
from heaven ; denied the administra-
tion of angels ; denied the power that
was in the ancient church that comes
through the gift of the Holy Ghost,
and gave him much instruction upon
this point, bnt did not see proper upon
that occasion to give him a full
knowledge of the Gospel, and what
was necessary to constitute a true
church, and gave him some few com-
mandments to govern him in future
time, with a promise that if he would
abide the same and call upon his
name, that the day would come when
the Lord would reveal to him still
further, making manifest what was
necessary to the constitution of the
true church. The vision withdrew ;
the personages attending and the
light withdrew. He returned to his
father's house, and told the vision,
not only to his parents and neighbors,
but to some of the preachers of the
religious denominations in that place.
He was expressly commanded in the
vision to unite himself to none of
these churches. When he related
that which he had received in this
vision, the ministers immediately
made light of it, and said to him,
" God does not reveal anything in our
days ; he revealed all that was neces-
sary in ancient times; he has not
spoken for 1SU0 years to any one."
From that time forth he was perse-
cuted, not only by ministers, but all
denominations in that region perse-
cuted him. " There goes that vision-
ary boy." This seemed to be the
feeling manifested, not only by pro-
fessors, but by all ; but yet he knew
that God had manifested himself to
him ; he could not be persuaded to
the contrary, any more than Paul
could when he beard Jesus in his first
vision.
When about four years had elapsed,
he retired to his bed one Sunday
evening, reflecting upon the former
vision, praying to the Lord that he
might receive a fulfillment of the
promise — namely, that if he was
faithful, the true order of the Church
142
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES,
of the Son of God should be revealed
to him. While he lay thus praying,
all at once the chamber was lighted
tip; this light continued to grow
brighter and brighter until he saw a
glorious personage, and this personage
revealed to him the condition of the
world, the apostacy of the Christian
nations, and the darkness that reigned;
also revealed to him what the Lord
intently 1 to accomplish upon the face '
of the whole earth preparatory to his
coming. He informed him that this
continent had once been occupied by
a religious people, who understood
the law of Moses and the Gospel;
that they kept sacred records among
them, and wrote ihera upon plates of
gold, which were deposited in a cer-
tain hill tibout three miles from his
father's house. At the same time
this angel was telling him about these
plates, the vision of his mind was
opened so that he could see the place
of their deposit. After the angel had
given many instructions he withdrew.
Joseph Smith continued to pray; the
angel came a second time, related the
same things over again, and gave him
the same view of the plates, and still
further information concerning the
work of the last days, and then with-
drew a second time. He continued
to pray ; the angel came the thinl
time, gave him some further know-
ledge and information, opening still
further the prophecies concerning the
grand events that must be fulfilled in
the latter days. When the angel
withdrew from him the third time,
instead of going to sleep, he arose
and it was daybreak* He had been
conversing with this angel nearly the
whole night
He went out in the morning, as
usual, with his father to labor in the
field, and his father, observing that j
he looked pale, asked him if he was j
ill. He replied that he did not feel j
very well His father advised him
to go to the house. He started to go
home, and after going a certain dis-
tance from his father, and before he
reached the house, the angel again
appeared to him — this was in day-
light— and told him to turn back and
tell his father what he had seen. Ho
did so ; he was also commanded by
the angel in this fourth vision that
he should go to the place where these
plates were deposited. After relating
to his father what he had seen, his
father declared that it was a heavenly
vision, and told him to be faithful to
what had been revealed to him. " He,
therefore, on the morning of the 22nd
I of September, 1823, repaired to, and
saw the place where these plates were
deposited, just as he had seen in the
! night vision. They were deposited
in a stone box not far from the
summit of the hill Cumorah. The
crowning stone that covered the box
was oval ; by taking away the turf
from its edges he succeeded, by the
use of a lever, in raising it from the
box. When he saw t.fe plates, he
also saw an instrument that was called
by the ancient prophets a Urim and
Thummin. While he was thus gazing
upon the plates, the angel came again
j to him, and as he was about to put
I forth his hand to take them, forbade
him, saying that he needed farther
experience ; that they could not be
entrusted with any one only with
those having an eye single to the
glory of God ; that they were sacred
records, and that no person could
have them for speculative purposes;
| and gave him certain commandments
to keep, and told him to visit that
place again one year from that time
when he would again meet with him.
He did so at the expiration of the
year, and did so until four years had
passed away ; and on the morning of
j the 22nd of September, 1827, the
angel permitted him to take the plates,
1 and also the Urim and Thummin.
Ti£E FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY, ETC
143
Thus I have show*n you how Truth j
sprang oat of the earth j according to
the words of our text Mr. Smith
being uneducated, except in the ele-
mentary branches as taught in our
coram >n schools in the East, therefore
^elt himself incapable, by his own
learning, to perform so great a work.
He was commanded of the Lord to
draw off* some of these characters
from the plates and send them to the
learned, which he did; they were
sent to the city of New York by the
hands of Martin Harris, the old
gentleman whom yoa saw here last
Conference. That old gentleman
being then a middle-aged man, went
to New York to see if he could find
any person among the learned that
could translate the characters. Ha
went to Professors Mitchell and
Anthon, an J r.hcy were exhibited to
thera ; and Mr. Harris received a
certificate, stating that to them the
translation of Joseph Smith seemed
to be very correct, Martin Harris
had not told Mr. Anthon how Mr.
Smith came in possession of these
characters. The Professor asked Mr.
Harris how Mr. Smith obtained the
plates from which the characters were
taken ; lie said that he obtained them
by the administration of an holy
angel by obedience to the command-
ments of God. M i\ Anthon requested !
him to let him see the certificate, he
did so ; and without any farther con-
sultation tore it up before his eyes,
and then said, if he would bring the
plates to him he thought he could
assist him in the translation. We
all know that some of the characters
and hieroglyphics that have been
discovered in some parts of America
cannot be deciphered by the most
learned men of our day. The Pro-
fessor wrote an article some time
afterwards against the Latter-day
Saints, in which he corroborates that
which I have just told yon concerning
a plain countryman coming to him
with characters.
Thus we have the testimony of
Professor Anthon that such a circum-
stance did transpire, and that such
characters were handed to him. After
Martin Hairis returned to Joseph
Smith and told him the conversation
that had taken place, how that Pro-
fessor Anthon could not decipher the
record*, Joseph inquired of the Lord,
and the Lord commanded hira that
he should translate the records, and
that he should do it through the
medium of the Urina and Thunimim.
He commenced translating, but being
a poor scribe, he employed Martin
Harris to write some for him ; he
also employed other scribes to write
from his mouth, and at intervals
continued to work upon the farm.
Being persecuted, however, he had to
leave his father's house and went
down to Pennsylvania, where he was
also persecuted. He continued the
work of translation until it was com-
pleted, and this is the book (Book of
Mormon) which is the translation
from these plates, a book which con-
tains some five or six hundred closely
written pages. After Mr. Smith had
almost completed the translation, he
| found that there was a prediction
contained in the hook that the Lord
would show to three witnesses, by his
power from heaven, the truth of the
divinity of this work. The query
immediately aro.se who these three
should be. Martin Harris, Oliver
Cowdery and David Whitraer were
very anxious that they might be the
favored individuals. They were told
to humble themselves before the Lord
and pray unto him, and that if they
would do this the same should be
shown to them. They did so. Mr.
Smith went with them; this was in
Fayette, Seneca Co., New York, in
the year 1S29. While they were
I praying the angel descended from the
144 JOURNAL^
heavens in the presence of these four H
tneB, and took the plptes and exhibited
the pages and engravings of that
portion that was unsealed — for the
wholes of them were nqt permitted to
be translated ; and thus £he engrav- ;
ings were shown to three * other
witnesses. The angel at the same
time placed his hands upon the head i
* oftDavid Whitmer and said, " Blessed '
, be the Lord and they that keep his
compiandments." At the time that
the angel was showing the records,
they heard a voice out of the heavens
saying, that the records had been
translated correctly by the gift and
power of God, and they were com-
manded to bear witness of the same
to all people to whom the work should
be sent They have therefore given
" their solemn testimony in this book
in connection with Joseph §mith,
concerning the appearing of the angel,
and the exhibition of the plates;
their testimony has gone forth
wherever this book has been pub*
lished. Mr. Smith was also permitted
to show the plates to eight other
witnesses whose names are also given
in testimony of these things, that they
saw the plates and handled them.
Thus you have the testimony of
twelve men, eleven witnesses besides
the one who found the plates, t hree of
whom saw the angel of God ; and all
this before there was any latter-day
church in existence. There was a
circumstance, however, that took
place, before the organization of this
Church, on the 15th day of May,
1829. Two men, Joseph Smith and
Oliver Cowdery, being exercised before
the Lord in regard to the ordinance
of baptism ; how and in what way
they should receive this ordinance
acceptably before him they did not
know. They understood the mode
of baptism, for in the translation of
this record they found that the ancient
inhabitants of Israel baptised by im-
DISCOURSES,
mersion, and that the words used in
connection with it ,were also given.
The question arose, Who could bap-
I tize them. The Lord had already
told them that there was no true
church on the earth, and that there
was no authorized minister to ad-
minister baptism ; and, of course, this
was a question that would arise in the
mind of uuy individuals under similar
circumstances; they would naturally
want to know how they could be
baptized, so as to have their baptism
recognized in the heavens. They
understood that they might just as
well jump into the water themselves,
as to be baptized by a man having no
authority on him. They did not
understand how it could be done, and
they therefore were troubled in their
minds with regard to it, and went
and humbled themselves before the
'Lord, who, on the 15th day of May,
1829, sent an angel to them. This
angel informed them that he was
John the Baptist, who was beheaded,
and who baptized their Savior, and
that he held the priesthood of his
fathers, the priesthood of Levi, He
laid his hands upon their heads and
ordained them unto the priesthood
that he himself had, which priesthood
had authority to baptize for -the re-
mission of sins, but had no authority
to lay hands upon the people for the
gift of the Holy Ghost John, who
baptized our Savior, him self declared :
I can baptize you with water, and
that is the extent of my authority,
but there coraeth one after me who
is mightier than I, he has greater
authority, he can baptize you with
fire and with the Holy Ghost j but I
have the right to baptize you with
water. This was in substance what
John said to the Jews in his day*
He conferred this same priesthood
upon these two men, and commanded
them to baptize one another, giving
them a promise that that priesthood
THE FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY, ETC*
H5
should never be taken from the earth,
but should remain for ever; conse-
quently the priesthood conferred by
the angel is never again *to be
banished from 'the earth, as it has
been throughout the dark ages.
They went and baptized each other,
for the Lord did not permit them to
organic the Church until the fullness
of time had arrived- He appointed
the day by new revelation, the very
day on which they should commence
the organization of the * Church —
namely, the 6th of April, 1330 ; also
gave a commandment on the day of
its organization, how the Church
should be organized, with what offices,
or those necessary to constitute a true
Church of God here on the earth.
Previous, however, to this organiza-
tion of the Church they received
higher authority than that which
John the Baptist gave them.
For when they found they only
had authority to baptize by water,
but could not minister the Holy
Ghost by the laying on of hands, the
question arose immediately: How
shall we obtain that authority ? They
again prayed ; they again called upon
the name of the Lord, and the Lord
sent messengers from heaven with a
higher priesthood than that which
John the Baptist held, whose names
were Peter, James and John, three
ancient Apostles, and they conferred
upon them the priesthood and Apostle-
ship that they themselves had, which
gave them authority not only to
baptize, but to administer in the
ordinance of the Holy Ghost by the
laying on of hands in the name of
Jcsns, precisely the same as the
Apostles did when on the earth.
Thus they received, not only the
lesser priesthood, but also the Apostle-
ship, and having authority granted
unto them from heaven they were
fully qualified to organize the Church ;
but still they could not do ikby their
No. 10.
own wisdom. • There was nothing fcp
be done in this Church by the wisdom
of man. The Lord, as I heretofore
stated, had already told them what
the necessary offices were, and what
the duties of these several offices
should be in the Church.
The Church was organized, and we
might give you a relation of its
history from that day down to the
present, but I see that the time allotted
for our forenoon meeting has already
passed-
I wish before T close to cite one or
two testimonies from the prophecios
in relation to this great work of the
latter days. If you will turn to the
29th chapter of Isaiah and read the
prediction contained therein you will
find that nearly the whole chapter
pertains to the events of the latter
days, one of the predictions is the.
destruction of the nations of the
wicked, which has never been ful-
filled, It reads thus : — That all
nations that fight against Mount
Zion shall become as a dream of a
night vision, etc, etc*
The Lord intends, in the last days,
to build up a people called Zion, or,
in other words, his Church. It
matters not how numerous the people
of the nations may be, this is their
destiny; they will become as the
dream of a night vision ; or as the
Prophet Daniel expresses it — all king-
doms and governments organized by
human authority shall become like
the chaflf of the summer threshing
floor ; the winds of heavea^hall blow
them away, £nd no place shall be left
for them ; and that the stone out oJf
the mountain should become a great
mountain agd fill the whole earth;
and the kingdom and the greatness
of the kingdom should be given into
the hands of the Saints of the Most
High — this is what Daniel has pre~
dieted. Isaiah has predicted the
same; but, before this destruction of
Vol XIV.
JOUKNAL OF DISCOURSES,
the wicked, certain events are to
happen ; among which he speaks of
a book He say 3, " And the vision
of all is b^jorne unto you as the
words of a h*ok that is sealed, which
men deliver to one that is learned,
paying, Rea^l this I pray thee, and he
eaith, I cannot, for it is sealed. And
the book is delivered to h::zi that is
not learned, say:i]£, Read this, I pray
thee. And he paith, I am not learned.
Wherefore the Lord said, For as much
fis this people draw near no with
their mouths, and with their lips do
honor me, and their fear toward me
is taught by precepts of men ; There-
fore behold, I will proceed to do a
marvel Ions work among this people,
even a marvel to "is work and a wonder,
for the wisdom of their wise men
Shall perish, a: J the understanding
of their prudent men shall be hid."
14 In that day Khali the deaf hear the
m
words of the book, aud the eyes of
the blind shall see out of obscurity
and darkness/*
These words of the Prophet Isaiah
were fulfilled far as the com in ^
forth of this book was concerned. It
was not the book itself that was to be
aent to the learned ; if that had been
the case the prophecy would rot have
been fulfilled ; but it "was the words
of the book/1 and not the book itself.
4i And the book was given to him that
is not learned, saying, read this I pray
thee. He says I am not learned."
Then conies in the declaration of the
Lord : — Because of the wickednoss of
the people, etc*, that he would " pro-
ceed to do a marvellous work and a
ironder," and in that event he would
Cause the wisdom ot the wise men to
perish, etc., ail of which has been
fulfilled. " And in that day shall the
deaf hear the words of the book, and
the eyes of the blind shall see out of
obscurity, and out of darkness." Now,
I would ask, are there not many in
this congregation of Latter-day Saints
who can testify that they have seen
this literally fulfilled ? Have you
not seen those who have been li terally
deaf, in the enjoyment of their hear-
ing, aud this by the power of God in
this disnensation f Yes, there nre
scores of witnesses that can testify
that this has been literally fulfilled.
Have you not seen those who have
been afflicted with blindness restored
immediately to their sight ? Yes,
and all this in fulfillment of this
prophesy. The meek shall increase
their joy in the Lord, and the poor
among men shall rejoice in the Holy
One oi Israel." Who, I would ask *
again, is the most benefited by this
prophecy ? In ancient days, while
the learned and the chief priests
rejected the Gospel of the Son of
God, was it not the poor among men
that were benefited by the Gospel
preached to them ? Yes, and go it
has !>een in these days.
How many scores of thousands
have been taken from the oppressions
of the old world, and brought some
six or seven thousand miles here, into
the interior of this glorious land of
America, a land of promise? Although
we h:;ve come into a very poor portion
of it, yet you have been benefited ;
you now own houses and lands, cat tle,
horses and property that you never
; would have possessed had you not
participated in the literal fulfillment
of this prophecy. The poor among
men are literally, as well as spiritually,
blessed. Then comes in another
prediction concerning the destruction
of the nations of the wicked. " For
the terrible one is brought to nought,
j and the scorner is consumed, and all
that watch for iniquity are cut off,
and all nations that fight against ^
1 Mount Zion, will perish and vanish
, away," When this marvellous work
and a wonder is commenced, and its
truths preached and fully declared to
the cations, and they reject them, the
desolation and destruction that were
brought upon the ancient Jews for
the rejection of the Gospel will,
according to this prophecy, be visited
upon the wicked of this generation.
How about Israel ? According to
the words of our text, " Truth shall
spring out of the earth, and righteous-
ness shall look down from heaven,
yea, the Lord shall give that which is
good, and our land shall yield her
increase ; righteousness shall go before
him, and shall set us in the way of
his steps." Thus you see, in that
day, when the wicked will be so
sorely afflicted the God of heaven will
signally favor Israel. These things
will transpire when we get through
with the Gentiles, because the direct
commandment of the Lord is, first
to the Gentiles, and then to the house
of Israel. And when the times of
the Gentiles are fulfilled, then the
Lord will restore the blessings he
promised to Israel ; he will then
ful till literally that which was uttered
by the Psalmist David, " Turn us
acrain, 0 God of our salvation; how
long will thou be angry with us?
how long shall we have to suffer in
consequence of our wickedness and
the wickedness of our fathers?"
Until truth shall spring out of the
earth ; until then your captivity mnst
remain; until then your sufferings
and great afflictions must continue.
But when the Lord brings truth out
of the earth and sends righteousness
down from heaven he will uirnh: re-
member Israel ; then the Gentile
nations will be punished, and Israel
be saved.
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT BRIG HAM YOUNG,
Delivered is the Kew Tabeenacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday,
June 25, 1871.
(Reported by David W. Evani.)
THE CELESTIAL GLORY— MODERN CIVILIZATION— FAMILY GOVERNMENT
As Brother Smith and myself, with |
others, will take our leave of this
place to-morrow morning for a preach-
ing tour through the northern settle-
ments, we wish to say a few words*
My remarks will be for all, both
Saint and sinner ; those who are
Saints, those who wish to be, and
those who wish not to be, I will
read the fifth paragraph of the seventh
section of the Book of Doctrine and
•Covenants. On referring to that
place you will find the following
words :
" And they who are not sanctified
through the law which I have given
unto you, even the law of Christ,
must inherit another kingdom, even
that of a terrestrial kingdom, or that
of a teles tial kingdom. For he who
is not able to abide the law of a
celestial kingdom, cannot abide a
celestial glory; and he who cannot
abide the law of a terrestrial kingdom
JOURNAL OP DISCOURSES,
cannot abide a terrestrial glory ; he
who cannot abide the law of a telestial
kingdom, cannot abide a telestial
glory ; therefore he is not meet for a
kin gd ( i m of glory . Therefore he m ust
abide a kingdom which is not a king-
dom of glory *
These words set forth the fact to
which Jesus referred when he said,
"In my Father's house are many
mansions," How many I am not
prepared to say ; but here are three
distinctly spoken of; the celestial,
the highest j the terrestrial, the next
below it ..; and the telestial, the third.
If we were to take the pains to read
what the Lord has said to his people
in the latter days, we should find
that he has made provision for all
the inhabitants of the earth ; every
creature who desires, and who strives
in the hast, to overcome evil and
subdue iniquity within himself or
herself, and to live worthy of a glory,
will possess one. But, " In my
Father's house are many mansions,"
says the Savior; he has prepared
places for his children; but the Saints,
we who have received the fullness of
the Gospel of the Son of God, or the
kingdom of heaven that has come to
earth, are in possession of those laws,
ordinances, commandments and reve-
lations that will prepare us, by strict
obedience, to inherit the celestial
kingdom, to go into the presence of
the Father and the Son. While
Jesus was here on the earth his fol-
lowers inquired about his future
dwelling place, for they all wanted to
be with him. Said they, in effect,
'* Where thou goest, we want to go ;
where thou dwellest, we want to
dwell ;" and they said, "Where shall
you live hereafter, and what will be
your state and condition?" Said
Jesus, in reply, " I am of the Father ;
I was with him before the foundations
of the world were laid; I and my
Father are one, we shall live together;"
and he said also, 1 " Strait is the gat®
and narrow is the way that leads to
the lives," (it reads in our Bible
" Leadeth unto life," but if it were
translated correctly it would be,
" Leadeth to the lives,") " and few
there be that find it." —
Jesus travelled and preached,
worked miracles, and labored dili-
gently by day and by night, and
when he had finished how many w ere
there to stand by him ? Ho.w many
were there to believe and confess him
before the scribes and phariseea?
After travelling with him and seeing
him feed the multitudes with a few
loaves and fishes, heal the sick and
open the eyes of the blind, how many
friends had he when he en me to the
cross ? How many of his disciples
were there to say, We are the dis-
ciples of this man whom yon are
about to crucify ? They stepped put
of the way. Well might Jesus say,
" Strait is the gate and narrow is the
way that leadeth to the lives, and
few there be that find it" We may
say, and justly too, that the conduct
of his disciples was very remaikable;
for, as much as they thought of their
Master, and as long as they had fol-
lowed him, there was not a man to
stand by him in his trying hour. It
was but a few hours before that they
had eaten supper with him, when, we
are told, "Jesus took the bread,
blessed and brake and gave to his
disciples, and said, * Take and eat ye
all of this;* and he took the cup,
saying, 1 Take this and drink ye all
of it, this is my body in the New
Testament and this is my blood in
the New Testament' " All this was
a few hours before his crucifixion;
1 and when his death drew near every
single man, to a man, forsook him.
During his trial, probably you all,
even to the children, have read the
story a great many times, when Peter
was accused of being one of his dis-
THE CELESTIAL GLORY, ETC.
149
ciples by a damsel who sat or stood
by, he denied it, saying, " lb is not
so, I am not one of his disciples ;"
and when a second time he was
accused of being one of his disciples,
he said, " Xo, it is not so, I lirnily
deny it, I am not one of his disciples,"
And when t I'linl time the same
aecosation was made he cursed and
swore about it.
Now I make an application of this
right here. As much as we think of
that ancient name and character —
the Savior, which age and antiquity
have rendered so sacred to the Chris-
tian world that they profess to revere
them, compare the coarse his imme-
diate followers took, with the course
taken by the followers of Joseph
Smith, the Prophet of the latter days,
as much as he is despised and his
name ridiculed. There is scarcely
any, no matter how high socially,
who can speak of him with sufficient
respect to call him "Mr." or " Joseph n
Smith, but they generally refer to
him as u Joe" Smith; yet, much as
; he is scorned and despised, he had
hundreds and thousands who would
have gone to the death with him
when he went to death, but Jesus
found not a man. Joseph Smith,
though he spent only fourteen years
in presiding over this people, organiz-
ing the Church, proclaiming the
Gospel and receiving revelations, yet
had hundreds and thousands of men
and women who were ready to go to
the death with him.
I wish now to look at rny subject
a little more, and will refer to the
present condition and future prospects
of the inhabitants ot the earth. If
we had time to read we could show
to you. Latter-day Saints, that the
Lord is more merciful to the people
than we are. He has compassion on
the works of his hands, while we,
through trio fall, have a disposition,
in common with all mankind, that is
revengeful, and apt to give way to
passion, wrath, malice, anger, bicker-
ing, contentions, hateful feelings and
unbecoming words. All men are
subject to this; but the Latter-day
Saints should be above it ; and I wish
to caution them, and to inform them
that if they expect to enter the
celestial kingdom they must overcome
this weakness and the wicked dispo-
sitions they have inherited through
the fall; they must subdue, and be-
come masters of them in the name of
Jesus, and become compassionate to
all, I have travelled a great deal in
the world ; and though, through the
evil that is within me, it is natural
for me to contend, and if I am opposed
to oppose in. return, and if a sharp
word is spoken to me to give a s'tarp
word b ick, I have done so but rarely*
It is wrong, and we must subdue the
inclination.
It has been mentioned here about
the Saints leaving their homes and
being persecuted. They may be
again for aught I know ; and if in
the providence of God it is permitted
to chasten us for our wickedness and
for yielding to sin, I hope we shall
be able to bear it patiently ; but if
the Latter-day Saints will live their
religion and exercise faith in the
name of Jesus, they will be able to
overcome every besetting sin within
themselves; and then we shall be
able to overcome every foe without,
and we will live and outlive all the
slander, falsehood and prejudice now
heaped mountain high against and
around us by many individuals in the
nations. We will live it down, live
it into oblivion. But shall we turn
away from the holy commandments
of the Lord and join hands with the
wicked and ungodly to make our
faith popular ? NTo, God foroid. I
am happy in believing, in knowing
and in proclaiming, that the Lord
Almighty has so organized his king-
150
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
dom on the earth and he so rules it
that no man will have the privilege
of coming into and abiding in it, and
receiving a fullness of its blessings
through covetousness, selfishness or
any spirit of idolatry. In the con-
templation of tins I rejoice, and I am
exceedingly glad that the Lord has
so ordered it that no man can be
saved in his sins and in his iniquity.
All will have to come to the Lord
and be sanctified through the grace
of Christ by faith in his name;
without this, I am happy to Buy, that
none can be purified, sanctified and
prepared to inherit eternal glory.
Well, Latter-day Saints, will you
live your religion ? Sometimes 1 do
not know about this. I see and
realize so much with regard to the
power of Satan on the earth, the evil
propensities of mankind and the
weakness of human nature, that I do
p
not know whether the Latter-day
Saints are going to abide all that will
come upon them. Whip them and
they will acknowledge the Lord,
abuse them and they will be Saints*
Have we any ensamples ? We have.
You take plenty of these who are
around here, who have been in this
Tabernacle, and some probably who
are here to-day, and when they were
in their own country, poor, distressed,
with not enough to eat, scanty cloth-
ing, no house of their own to live in,
not any property, not worth a chicken,
and the finger of scorn pointed at
them from Monday morning until
Saturday night, and they would go
weeping through the streets bearing
precious seed, and declare that " the
Gospel is true, Jesus hns spoken from
the heavens, the angel has flown
through the midst of heaven a?id
deli vet ed the Gospel to the children
of men, the kingdom of God is set
up, the word of the Lord is within
me and I am ready to declare it to
the people;" and they would go
weeping week alter week, month after
month, and year alter year, in their
poverty and wretchedness; but bring
them here and put them in u condi-
tion to gather around them a few
hundreds or , thousands, and they will
lift their heel against the Almighty ;
and when I think of this I do not
know how many of the Latter-day
Saints will apostatize, Let us be in
a condition now, if we could step
forward directly into a position in
which we should be equal with our
neighbors, equal with the corruptions
of this world, equal with the wicked,
and we should have praise and popu-
larity. I am glad it is not so. If
we could have the favor of the wicked
world, and have the blessings heaped
upon us and be fostered as other
people, communities and territories
are, probably it would lead away a
great many. It its all right now. If
we will bear all these things and be
patient, and live our religion whether
we have enough to eat or half enough ;
whether we have a good house to
dwell in, or we live in tents, wagons,,
or in dens and caves, and love the
Lord and delight to do his will and
walk humbly before him, and over-
come every passion and evd pro-
pensity, and subdue the old man
within us that Christ may live within
us — the new man to his glory, we
will inherit celestial glory. But no
person will be sane titled without the
law — the law which the Lord has
given, will be observed by few com-
paratively, when we take into account
the vast numbers who have lived on
the face of the earth. There is no
prospect whatever of multitudes of
them being sanctified by the law of
Christ, What we shall do for them
in the Millennium it is not for me to
say altogether. We shall do a great
deal, there is no question about it
It is a matter of great rejoicing, and
should bring forth gratitude from the
THE CELESTIAL GLOUY, ETC
151
hearts of the whole world of mankind,
that the Lord has promised a day of
rest. The day will come when Jesus
will rule King ot nations, as he now
does King of Saints, and this glorious ,
rest tbat the Saints have been looking
for for thousands and thousands of
years, from the days of Adam until
now, will arrive. They have been
looking for the absent body, just as
John the Revelator says, He saw the
souls under the altar crying, ** How
long, 0 Lord fn We are waiting for
the absent body, how long shall we
look for it ? It will come again by
and by, and the spirit and the body
will be reunited; but how many will
be prepared to enter the celestial
kingdom unless they are officiated for
it is not for me to say,] Bat if we
preserve ourselves in the truth and
live so that we shall be worthy of the
celestial kingdom, by awl Jn we em
officiate for those who have died
without law — the honest, honorable,
good, truthful, virtuous and pure. By
and by it will be said unto us, " Go
ye forth and be baptized for them,
and receive the ordinances for them ;"
and the hearts of the children will be
turned to the fathers who have slept
in their graves, and they will secure
to thera eternal life. This must be,
le.^t the Lord come and smite the,
earth with a curse, The children ;
will go forth and revive this law for
those who have slept for thousands of
years who died without the law,
Jesus will prepare a way to bring
them op into his presence. / But were
it not for the few who will be pre-
pared here on the earth to officiate
when the Lord .shall come to reign
King of nations, what would be the
condition of the world ? They would
sleep and sleep on ; but the way is \
prepared for their redemption.
Now, those who cannot abide the
law of the celestial kingdom cannot
abide the glory of a celestial kingdom.
AH Christians are locking for celestial
glory, but can they abide it ? They
cannot; it would consume them, for
M our God is a consuming fire." They
think they could abide a celestial
kingdom ; bat they could not They
will have to abide another kingdom
and another glory, according to the
lives they lead and the knowledge
they possess here. When we look at
it, we should have compassion and we
should be charitable. I want to say :
a great many priests bave been here
and I have spoken before them ; if
there be any here to-day I say to
them and to every priest on the face
of the earth, I do not c;ue whether
they he Christian, Pagan or Mahom-
medan, you should live according to
the be^t light you hr:ve; and if yoa
do you will receive all the glory yoa
ever anticipated. We should not be
prejudiced against you in the least;
even if you are against us and declare
falsehoods about us we should not
retaliate. But how pvone we are to
rebuke if we are rebuked, or if we
receive a sharp word to return one.
The Latter-day Saints have to over-
come this; and the v,orld may cry
out and say all manner of evil against
us, but, iny brethren and sisters, let
us so live that it will be i?aid falsely.
It we do this, happy are we; but if
truthful, woe be to the Latter-day
Saints ! Let all evil spoken of the
people called Latter-day Saints be
falsely spoken, as some that I heard
a week to-night. Shall I mention it ?
How quickly "old Adam" rose within
me, when the gentleman speaking
pointed his linger, and said, u Yuu
murderers V And I thought, M Will
yoa not prove it 'r" I did not say a
word; 1 thought about it a minute,
and concluded that it was not worth
noticing. He did not suy yoa
11 Latter-day Saints," but his congre-
gation was mainly composed of
Latter-day SainLt, a:;d *uiid he, " You
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES
murderers !" Could he prove this ?
No, uo, he could cot. Could any
man prove it ? Not that man that
lives on the face of the earth ; it
cannot be proved* Why? Because
the Saints are free and clear from the
crime, that is the reason. Let the
evil they speak of us be just as false
as that was when they were going to
bring us all to judgment ! * i
I believe I will venture to say a
little further. The gentleman said
all would be brought to judgment,
and said he, "You who have two
wives will be there ?" I thought to
myself, ** Glory, allelulia, we shall be
along with you father Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob, and with Moses and the
prophets." I do not wish to say one
word to cast a reflection whatever ;
but pity, pity ! Open the Bible and
read from Genesis to Revelations, and
the whole amount of the Christian ,
religion, and all that they can teach
and tell is, " Come to Christ, come to
Christ !" Why, certainly, that is
right. Come to Christ, and with it
forsake our sins, and when we do
this, keep the commandments of
Christ and fulfill the law just as he
did. Said he, " I come not to destroy
the law but to fulfill it ;" and he
declared that every jot and tittle
thereof should be fulfilled* Now
pardon me, but if I am a Saint my
heart would be filled with pity, oh,
how pitiful, and yet I could say, and
with justice and truth, though it
might sound harshly to the ears of
some, " O, fools and slow of heart to
believe" all that is written of Jesus
and the prophets, of the latter-day
work, of the Millennium, of the
coming forth of the kingdom of God
upon the earth, of the cleansing and
revolutionizing of the inhabitants of
the earth, and preparing them for the
coming of the Son of Man ! 1 could
say to the whole Christian world,
justly, uO fools and slow of heart to
believe what is written in the Bible
and other books concerning these
things."
I say u other books," for we believe
in other books as well as the Bible ;
but do we on that account believe in
an untruth ? No, I heard something
this morning about our religion being
vulgarly called " Mormonism." I say
not vulgarly called so* Mormon was
a good man, and he is in heaven, or
in a good place at any rate ; and the
Book of Mormon is named after him,
and we believe it. What does the
word mormon mean ? In the strict
sense, and as it was translated by the
ancients, it means more good. Mor-
mon, more good; and "Mormon ism "
embraces all the truth that there is
in heaven and on the earth ; and if
there is any in hell it belongs to us.
Every truth in the sciences and in
the arts, and all the knowledge that
God has given to man in mechanism,
and in fact on the earth, which is but
a small speck among the creations of
Gud, and the whole universe, all is
incorporated in and constitutes what
the world call " Mormonism." If we
have errors, and seeing that we are
just like other people, it is natural to
suppose that we are not free from
them, they should be overcome*
There is no other people on the face
of the earth that have the law of God
as the Latter-day Saints have it
They believe in the ordinances of the
house of God, they believe in the laws
that the Lord has revealed for the
salvation of the children of men. All
these holy ordinances are embraced
in our faith. We try to live accord-
ing to them, and that too strictly ;
and when aught is said against us I
only ask my brethren and sisters to
live so that it will be said falsely —
live so as to be guiltless — be innocent,
full of faith, good works, charity, love,
long-suffering, patience, godliness and
brotherly kindness. If we fill up our
THE CELESTIAL GLORY, ETC
153
lives with these good works, happy
are we, no matter where other people
go or what they say or do ; or whether
they ever give us onr rights according
to their estimation or according to
ours. If we do this God wilt give us our
rights. We live in peace and prosper,
and live in hope ; and if we do our
duty we shall live down every ob-
stacle, every opposing foe, every
opposite .spirit and influence that is
raised against as as a nation or as
nations; and live, as I hope will be
onr constant aim, so as to glorify
God, Not to gain the flatteries and
fellowship of the world, for I would
not give a snap of my finger for them ;
for as the world is I want not their
fellowship. I should have their good
feelii igs I Why ? Because I do
nothing only to do them good. There
is not a professed Christian on the
lace of the earth but what, if he knew
what we know, would pray for the
Latter-day Saints. Why? Because
we have the keys of salvation to the
children of men, which have been
restored to the earth by the Almighty
in these latter days, and we arc doing
everything we possibly can for their
salvation.
Talk about persecution, why that
only comes from those who hate the
truth* When falsehood is spoken
against this people, no matter by
whom, whether priest or people, it
comes from a foul, wicked heart.
Some say we are nil wicked. Yes,
we are all wicked ; but we should rot
allow our tongues to utter forth
many things that are uttered. We
are not pure enough yet ; we are not
holy, we are not sanctified ; no, the
Latter-day Saints are not sanctified,
and if any person thinks that we, as
a people, are a pattern for the human
family, we would just refer him and
all mankind to the commandments
and revelations which the Lord has
given for the salvation of his crea-
tures; they are perfect, but we are
imperfect. We are trying to be
perfect, and trying to sanctify the
Lord God in our hearts, and to honor
his name, character and laws, arc! to
spread them as far as we possibly can
to the east, west, narth and south,
and to gather up all that will be
gathered into the celestial kingdom ;
but to shake hands with the world
and fellowship them, no, no ! In the
first place they will not fellowship us,
and in the next place we cannot
fellowship them. We will fellowship
every good word and every good
thought and every good deed ; but
we cannot fellowship them in rebelling
against the truth.
Speaking of persecutions, neglects,
slights and insults, was if an insult
for the President of the United States,
after calling upon our men to redeem
this land from a foreign government,
which we did, so far as the whole of
Upper California is concerned, for it
was acquired by the Latter-day Saints
from the Mexican Government ; and
over it we hoisted the American flag,
and have maintained it ever since ;
and then for our Chief Magistrate' to
make war upon the people who had
actually added so much to the public
domain and placed it under the banner
and flag of their Government, to send
an army to waste us away and destroy
us, was it generous ? Did it eviuce
brotherly kindness ? Was it accord-
ing to Christian light ? Was it
according to the New Testament, the
savinsra of the Savior, or the acts of
the wise and the good ? We leave
everybody to judge. Still they did
not do it, no, nor they will not do it
either.
What did we do when we came
here ? A few words upon this. Did
we manifest to the world that we
knew how to take care of ourselves ?
What did we bring with us ? Five
times have I been broken up and left
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES,
a fine property behind. I never
looked after it, for I knew that the
earth was the Lard's and the fullness
thereof, and that he could give me
what he pleased, hence I never looked
behind, but marched forward, right
ahead five times. What did we bring
here ? Nothing ; we came here com-
paratively, as the old saying is, naked
and barefoot. We have lived here!
twenty-lbur years, and now we are
told that if we can convince the
people of the United States that we
can actually govern, control and sus-
tain ourselves, why, we can have a
State Government, so as to get ns a
little land to school oar children and
help on r^elves a little, I suppose
front this that they wish to imply
that up to this time we have not
proved that we can sustain and govern
ourselves. What is necessary, judg-
ing by the .standard of civilization, to
prove this ? What does it take to
constitute a people capable of govern-
ing and controlling themselves?
Now, mark, in the estimation of
civilization it requires a settlement,
territory and subjects for this terri- ,
tory ; and then it requires certain
ingi alien Is within this community,
to constitute civilization. Where
shall we begin? We will build a
grogshop, that will be the first thing,
and have a lew groceries; and we
will bring on the liquor. The descrip-
tion of an outfit to the mines in early '
days wili answer to illustrate and fill
up tfie picture. The fiist thing was
a barrel of whitky, then ten pounds !
of dried beef, and a box of crackers ;
what next ? A ten gallon keg of
whisky and four pounds of cheese, ten
of butler, then another barrel of
whisky, next ten pounds of dried beef,
two yacks of flour, and so on. Now,
after we get a parcel of grogshops
and can see, every Saturday, men
drinking in the streets, hurrahing,
running their horses, having children
run over, and perhaps get to fighting
and somebody's head broken, or some
one shot down, and have some
gambling saloons, then wo are ready
for a meeting house, and here comes
the priest through the streets mourn-
ing over the sins of the people, crying,
and " Olt what a wretched place this
is." That is civilization. You will
excuse me, this is DO overdrawn
picture, but is a representation of
what is misnamed civilization, But
is it so in the eyes of Heiven ? No,
it is civilization in the eyes of filth
and corruption, that is what it is.
To call this civilization is like
saying to a kind, judicious and loving
mother, " You are not capable of
taking care of your children, we will
put them out," What is the matter,
mother? And the mother says,
"Why, my children obey me, I
make no request of them but what
they comply with; and they are
willing and obedient. 1 teach them
morning and evening to pray ; 1 teach
them to read the Bible, to be good,
not to tell falsehoods, but to be truth-
ful and honest, and not to take a pin's
worth from their neighbors j not to
contend with each other about their
toys." And this mother is kind,
loving and agreeable, and her children
love her, and in the morning run with
open arms and salute her with,
" Mamma, how glad 1 am to see you,
are you well f" And at night when
going to bed the mother says, " Good
night, my darlings, come and Jet me
give you a kiss/' But this mother
is not worthy of her children, and
they must be taken from her and put
out; she is too kind to them, and has
perfect control over them. That is
what they are afraid of. And the
father, when he comes from his work,
his store or mechanics* shop, is met
with smiling laces, and "good evening,
father, or papa," and he has a kiss for
each of them, and has a kind good
THE CELESTIAL GLOKY, ETC.
night for all, and perfect love and
peace reign hi their midt>t. But that
mother and father fire unworthy of
those children ; the way they have
trained them is not civilization. Whip
them, teach them to quarrel, fight,
knock each other down, and finally
kick them out of doors ! That is
civilization according? to the notion of i
the world. This is a comparison and
it may be a strong one; but lay it in
the balance and bee how it will weigh.
Will they among whom such manners
and principles prevail be prepared for
the celestial kingdom, or for a ter-
restrial or telestial kingdom, no
matter who they are ? I think not.
They will have to abide a kingdom
where there is no glory. I
Well now, why not take this family
and let papa and mamma train up
their children in the nurture anil
admonition of the Lord, and teach j
them every good moral principle, and
faith in the name of Jesus ? To my
certain knowledge children in our
community, when mamma has been
sick, have said, "Mamma, are you
not better ?" " Why do you ask my
little dear F M Why,*1 says the little
girl, M I have prayed for you ; are you
better r" " Yes, my dear/* I have
witnessed many and many a time
children praying for the father or for
the mother, and that mother or father
would be healed through the faith of 1
the child, i3ut this is not civilization.
No; hence you ljatter-day Saints
must not have any lauds to make use
of to school your children. You must
be tied up, you must be ruled over ;
yon are not capable of governing and
controlling y out selves. And yet
thousands and ihousauds of them
who say this will admit that we have
the best organization and are the
best governed community they have
ever seen. But what is the matter
when they get away r Why papa
and mamma kiss the children, and
155
I the children kiss papa and mamma,
and this will not do, it is i ->t civiliza-
tion. Kick, cuff and wold from
morning to night must be the story,
** then we are ready to r< ceive yon ?"
Shame on such conduct ! Shame on
such statesmanship !
u Well, I don't like your peculiar
institutions r We have never been
driven yet for our peculiar institutions
which they talk about, and if we can
beat them in peculiar conduct I am
mistaken ! I have seen men come
here, who moved in the highest
society on the American continent,
and *4 Who have you got with you ?"
*' My wife," he says, and by and by
you find out it is not his wife, but a
woman he has hired to come here.
In one instance a judge came here
with a woman who had been turned
i off by a Congressman, and she sat on
the judgment sent with him and
claimed him for husband ; but when
he had got through with her, u You
! can go now, I do not want von any
more/* Will a " Mormon " do this ?
No, never, if he does he will be
damned ; and any man who does will
go to hell, now mark my word for it.
And this is civilization !
Can they inherit these glories ?
NTo, the Lord has n vra!el the fact
that the people must be sanctified j
and if tluy cannot abide and be
| sanctified by a celestial law, they can
not inherit this glory ; and they must
abide and be sanctified by a terrestrial
law and inherit a terrestrial glory. .
But we will pick every man and every
woman on the face of the earth that
we can possibly save and give them
life and salvation through obedience
to the requirements of Heaven. That
is the way it is given, obtained and
enjoyed. The spirit of the Gospel
comes by obedience to the Gospel.
I want to say a few things to the
Latter-day Saints, for I have not half
I freed my mind. Will you live so as
156
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES
to make your calling and election
sure ? You have a work to do, and
it requires a holy life to prepare you
to do it, Now I charge you again,
and I charge myself not to get angry,
Never let anger arise in your hearts*
No, Brigham, never let anger arise in
your heart, never, never! Although
you may be called upon to chastise
and to speak to the people sharply,
do not let anger arise in you, no,
never! Let us sanctify the Lord
God in our hearts and live to his
honor and glory and all is right with
ns ; and by and by we shall see what
comes to those who say to us, " You
can't have your rights ."
I will just say to the nation in
which I live, and which gave me
birth : The Lord God Almighty has
a controversy with you and he will
bring yon to judgment, and no power
can hinder it It is the decree of
the Almighty in the heavens, and
will be so. Let us prepare for itf
Saint and sinner. This life is but a
moment, and is only preparatory to a
higher state of glory. We are in
darkness and ignorance here ; but it
is to give us an experience that we
can step into a higher state of know-
ledge, understanding, light and in-
telligence. That we may come up
higher and higher, and not be reduced
when we enter the next state of
existence, I say to the inhabitants of
the earth, for God's sake and for your
own sakes, do take that course that
when you step into another room, or
lay down this mortal tabernacle, you
will be prepared for a higher state of
glory, It will not bo present civiliza-
tion that will prepare you for that;
but strict obedience to the require-
ments of heaven in all honesty, sin-
cerity, purity, lowliness of heart and
faithfulness to our God. May he help
us to do it. Amen !
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG,
Delivered m the Tabernacle, Ocden City, June 4, 1871,
(Beported by David W. Evans.)
POLITICAL PARTIES AND CHRISTIAN SECTS—THE SABBATH— MARRIAGE,
It is a great work to instruct our-
selves and each other ; and to bring
ourselves into perfect subjection and
to an understanding of principle. We
know what it is to meet with obstruc-
tions, difficulties and contradictions of
various kinds ; and this people know
pretty well what it is to have to
contend with the influences of the
wicked world ; bat we have reason to
rejoice and be exceeding glad that we
ar^ not in the same circuinstunces
now that we have oeen heretofore.
We have peace here in these moun-
tains, and since we arrived in these
valleys we have been free from those
obstructions with winch our pathway
was constantly strewn before. [Jt is
frequently asked me why we left the I
States and the society of our Christian ]
POLITICAL PARTIES AND CHRISTIAN SECTS, ETC. 157
brethren. My reply has invariably
been, " We staved with you just as
long as yon would let us, and when
you svnxAd let us stay no longer we
had to hunt up some other place, and
we came to the valleys not out of
^choice but out of necessity," J It is
true that we hare had some little
things to contend with here, tut it
amounts to no more than a war of
words. Our religion will bear in-
vestigation, and we invite the Chris-
tian world to investigate and to
exchange ideas concerning faith and
principles.
Brother Wells has been telling you
about some of the influences that we
had to contend with in Illinois, This
gentleman was not a "Mormon"
when we went from Missouri to
Illinois, neither was he when we left
that State, and he was in a position
to know what the feelings of the
people were ; his neighbors composed
the band that slew Joseph and Hyrum
in the jail at Carthage, He is
acquainted with the circumstances.
He says he has put them from his
mind as much as possible, and does
not think of them. I am happy to
hear it, I wish we may never be
under the necessity of again referring
to what we have passed through ; but
we shall be, there is no question; and
if we have to meet with influences of
another character now, all that we
have to do is to be prepared for them ;
and if the Lord brings us into circum-
stances in which we shall be as willing
to live our religion and pray as some
are to fight, it will be much better
for us. We have many Elders in
Israel who would much rather fight
for their religion than pray. As for
, a person being saved in the celestial
kingdom of Uod without being pre-
pared to dwell in a pure and holy
place, it is all nonsense and ridiculous ;
and if there be any who think they
can gain the presence of the Father
and the Son by fighting for instead
of living their religion, they will bo
mistaken, consequently the quicker
we make up our minds to live our
religion the better it will be for us.
If we live so as to enjoy the spirit of
the faith that we have embraced there
is no danger of our being deceived.
To those of our Christian brethren
who have come here, not to join a
mob to kill or persecute the Saints,
but to see how many of those who
have obeyed the Gospel they can
induce to forsake the holy command-
menls of the Lord Jesus and to follow
after phantoms, I say the quicker this
war of words commences and the
fiercer it is carried on the better it
will be for the Saints. So vw say
come, brethren, come with yuur big
tents, your meeting houses, your
arguments and all the philosophy you
are in possession of, for we have a
religion that we would like the
inhabitants of the earth to understand.
We have nothing in the dark, nothing
but what is good for man; and we
would say to all try our religion. We
have tried and we understand the
religions of the world ; and in some
remarks I made yesterday I ventured
to say that our youth know more of
heavenly things than old men do iji
the Christian world. If any doijbt
this, just take our children and ques-
tion them, and if they have the
courage and boldness, see how quickly
they will lead members of the sec-
tarian world into waters so deep that
they cannot the shore. But if a
war of argument is desired or in-
tended, I do not mean contention, but
an exchange of ideas, we are willing
to give to all who want them the
principles of the Gospel of life and
salvation, and they can give to us all
they know of the Gospel as they have
embraced it, which is no more nor
less than a system of morals or ethics,
and is excellent as far as it goes-
158
JOURNAL OF
DISCOURSES
I
But the Gospel that we have embraced
includes every principle of morality
and virtue that is taught by any
person on the earth, whether he doe3
or does not know or profess to Know
Christ.
If we are brought into circum-
stances where we have the privilege
of telling strangers what we believe
in we are very willing to do so ; but
the first thing with them is, " Oh,
yonr strange doctrine, your peculiar
doctrine !" How often this is said to
me in my office. I say to them,
" What peculiar doctrine ? Will you
please to name it?" The reply is,
" Well, you know you have a peculiar
doctrine;" and the ladies stand
anxiously waiting for somebody or
other to arive it a name. I sometimes
say, "Is it plurality of wives you
mean?" "Yes, yes, that is the
doctrine." If I were to answer my
own feelings to such parties, 1 would
answer them and say, " That is
nothing; so fir as a plurality of
women goes, you men, if you will
allow me this vulgar expression,
* knock the hind sights off the Mor-
mons.1 " But that is vulgar, and so
let it pass.
" But " say they, " what of your
jheculiar docirine? What did you
come to the mountains for ? What
did you leave us for ? We suppose
it was on account of your peculiar
doctrine." I reply, " Pause ! Wait
a moment ! When we left the con-
fines of what is called civilization the
doctrine of plurality of wives was not
known by the world, and was not
tanght by 11*, and was known only
to a very frvv members of our Church ;
but sinoe we have declared this reve*
lation we have dwelt in peace and
safety, so we were not persecutei for
that, sure. We did not leave Ohio,
Missouri, Illinois, or any other State
or neighborhood within the confines
of civilization for believing in the
doctrine of a plurality of wives." I
say tli is to all who hear me. I want
our young folks to understand this,
or they may per Imps grow up with
the idea that we were driven fronfi
our homes in consequence of onr belief
in celestial marriage. I want all our
young, and all who believe the Gospel
and all who do not believe it, to know
that we were driven for believing in
tbe Old and New Testament ; not for
believing in the Book of Mormon,
but in the Bible, and then practising
it in our lives This, and this only,
is what we were driven for. It is
now called the "one-man power;"
then it was "the 'Mormons1 clan
together;" and this was the rock of
oflence or seemingly so ; but in reality
it was the same then as now and now
as then — we as a people believe in the
Scriptures of divine truth, and we are
united in endeavoring to live accord-
ing to the precepts thereof.
When Brother Wi lis was speaking
he said the Christian religion had
failed, I will say just what he meant
to say — namely, that professing the
Christian religion has failed to bflng
the world into subjection to moral
laws. I would not say that Chris-
tianity has failed ; the religion of
Christ has not failed, but tliose pro-
cessing this religion have failed to
bring the world into subjection to
good and wholesome laws. You may
take up politics, for instance, and in
our own country there are a great
many parties who differ :n their views
and opinions with regard to governing
a nation, and on every hand they are
l contending against each other. This
division exists even among the pro-
fessing Christians. The Catholics
and Quakers are probably less divided
! than others, but they are far from
being one in politics; and the same
| is true to a greater extent of the
Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Congre-
gationalism, Baptists, Methodists, and
POLITICAL PARTIES AND CHRISTIAN SECTS, ETC.
159
so on. When we see a religion, and
one which is claimed to be the religion
of Christ, and it will not govern men
in their polities, it is a very poor
religion, it is very feeble, very faint
in its effects, hardly perceptible in
the life of a person. The religion
that the Lord has revealed from
heaven unites the hearts of the people,
and when they gather together, no
matter where they are from, they are
of one heart and one mind. Those
who have no idea of the effects of the
Gospel attribute the oneness it pro-
duces to the influence of individuals
now living on the earth, instead of
giving God the glory, praise and honor.
The religion of heaven unites the
hearts of the people and makes them
one. Yon may gather a people
together, and no matter how widely
they differ in politics, the G< np< I of
Jesus Christ will make them one,
even if among them were found
me [nbers uf all the political parties
in the country, I do not know how
many different political parties now
exist in the country. There used to
be only Federals and De uocrats, then
Whigs, Republicans, Locofocos, Barn-
burners, and Free-seders. Then the
** Know Nothings" sprang iuto exist-
ence. I believe the Ku Klux is a
new political organization ; and I have
heard that, in the City of Washington,
the Anti-Ku-Klnx. another political
party, has recently been organized.
If members - of all these various
organizations were to obey the Gospel
and gather together, the religion of
heaven would clear their hearts of all
political rubbish and make them one
in voting for principles and measures,
instead of men, and I think that any
religion that will not do this is very
feeble in its effects. The Christian
religion, t>r what is called so, has
failed to subdue the world ; but what
will the Gosj>el of Jesus Ciirist do?
If the Gospel that we preach, and
which we are trying to set before
priest and people — for we want all to
know and understand it — if it does
nut have the effect of convincing men
and women of the truth sufficiently
to induce them to yield obedience to
its ordinances and to embrace the
doctrine of life and salvation, and
accept the overtures of rnerey, learn
Christ and obey him, it will drive
them to the wul! of infidelity. Do
we believe this ? It must be so. Do
others believe it ? No, they do not
The Christian world do not know
that they are infi lels in their belief
in regard to the character of the
Father and the Son, and the Holy
Priesthood and its laws and require-
ments. If a man docs not believe
that he ought to be baptized for the
remission of his sins, he is an infidel
to baptism. My definition of the
term infidel is that if any principle
or doctrine is set before me, and I
say I disbelieve it, I am neither more
nor less than an infidel to that prin-
ciple or doctrine. Are the sectarian
world inffdels according to this deBni-
Hon ? Yes, mid if we had time we
would take some passages of Scripture
and prove it. Take, for instance, the
character of the Savior, and the
sectarian world are infidel on this
point. What do they believe about
it ? I do not know what they believe,
and they do not know themselves.
Many of them do not know that they
believe anything. They would be
glad to believe if they knew what to
believe. But not knowing what to
believe, they say, '* We do not know,
we do not understand, we cannot tell.
We understand some things by read-
ing the Scriptures; but the ministers
tell us they have a spiritual meaning."
Now what does this favorite saying
of the ministers — " a spiritual mean-
ing M — convey to the mind ? Some-
thing or other that you and I do not
understand, that is all. Well, then,
160 , JOURNAL OF
partially, I will say, to a certain
degree, it leaves us in infidelity. This
is the situation of the sectarian world
to-day — they do not know what to
believe, and consequently they are
full of unbelief and doubt, and we say
that our children ought to know
enough to teach the whole world with
regard to these things. The divines
of the day, when they have graduated
frooi the schools, seminaries and col-
lege% so far as their knowledge of
heavenly things goes, are a bundle of
trash and ignorance* I meet with
some occasionally, however, who are
very religious. I met with a gentle-
man in my office last Friday evening,
who was very tenacious on some
points touching morality. He put
me in mind of a great many I have
met in my travels — strong, staunch
Christians. What did the religion of
that individual consist of? I told
you yesterday — ignorance and impu-
dence— i hat is about the amount of
it Such men would be Christians if
they knew how, they would like to
be. But will they receive the truth ?
Our doctrine and practice is, and I
have made it mine through life — to
receive truth no matter where it
comes from. Is there troth in heaven ?
Yes, it dwells there, it is the founda-
tion of the heavens. Is there truth
on earth and beneath the earth?
There is* Is there truth in the words
of a good man ? Yes. In the words
of a wicked man ? Yes, sometimes ;
and there is truth in the words of an
angel, and in the words of the devil,
and when the devil speaks the truth
I should have the spirit to discriminate
between the truth and the error, and
should receive the former and reject
the latter* For example, you read
in Genesis about the formation of the
earth and the creation of Adam and
Eve in the Garden. By and by the
devil comes along and tempts Eve,
by offering her the fruit of a certain
DISCOURSES.
tree, assuring her at the same time
that the very day she ate of it her
eyes would be open and she would see
like the Gods. Did the devil tell the
truth ? He did. Did he tell a lie ?
Yes, and how many of them he told
to one truth I have not taken pains
to examine. You take a wicked
person, an opposer of the truth, one
of our apostates, for instance, and lie
will tell you a little truth and mix it
up with a great deal of error; but we
should know enough to understand
and receive the truth ; that will do
us good, and if we reject the error it
will do us no harm. :
This is our position, and we say to
all Christians come and investigate
our religion. Do we understand
Methodism, Presbyterianism, Quaker*
ism, Shakerism and the various other
isms of the Christian world ? Yes*
I learned these, as far as their creeds
go, many years ago. That which
they could not tell and did not under-
stand, I never did learn. My objeo
tion to their creeds and systems was
that they talked about things thejr
did not understand and couKl nut tell
a word about; consequently I was
called an infidel. We say J give us
the truth ; but when strangers come
to see me their first reflection is, " I
would like to ask him a question if I
dare*" What is it ? It is all about
wives* My conscience ! what a
generation of gentlemen and ladies
we have ! Their thoughts and reflec-
tions are continually about wives and
husbands, Why the mind of a pure
; Saint and Christian is above such
things. If it is necessary to take a
wife, take one ; if it is necessary to
have a husband, have one. If it is
necessary to have two wives, take
them. If it is right, reasonable and
proper and the Lord permits a man
to take half a dozen wives, take them j
but if the Lord says let them alone,
let thorn alone. How long ? Until
POLITICAL PARTIES AND CHRISTIAN SECTS, ETC.
161
we go down to the grave, if the Lord
demand it. If he require an Elder or
Elders to take their valise and travel
and preach the Gospel until the day
of their death, they should do it ; and
if they are not happy in so doing, it
would prove that they do not possess
the spirit of their religion.
This gentleman to whom I was
speaking on Friday was tenacious
with regard to the Sabbath ; that was
his whole theme. He commenced
about our running cars here on the
Sabbath Day. I told him in as few
words as I could, that my feelings
were not to do it, and if I bad the
management of railroads I would stop
it. Why ? Because the Lord has
said that it is not good for us to work
the seven days ; it is good to work
six and rest the seventh. Our system
requires rest after six days' labor, and
consequently he has set the seventh
apart for that purpose. But I told
him I could not control that matter;
the people want to run from Salt
Lake to Ogden and back again to Salt
Lake on Sundays, and consequently,
as it is a matter of necessity/ we run
the cars on the Sabbath, Said he,
** How can you reconcile this ?" Said
I, " It ought to be done, that is how I
reconcile it." Know whether you ought
to do a thing or not, and if you ought
to do it, do it; and if you ought not,
let it alone. That is the way to live.
Yon can not read anytbtng in tbe
Bible about a railroad from Salt Lake
City to Ogden t nor from the Atlantic
to the Parific; you cannot read any-
thing about telegraph wires, nor whe-
ther they should work on a Sunday
or lie still; nor anything about run-
ning a railroad, ^pr a stage, or about
the labor of the people who live now.
By reading the Bible we can learn
something about the way the ancients
regulated their labors as far as the
Lord told them what to do.'* It is
one of the most simple things in the
No. 11.
world for people to understand what
course they should take; what a pity
they do not all understand it! If
men would live and humble them-
selves like children God could dwell
within them and could dictate every
heart But to enjoy this we must
live before the Lord, so that our
minds would be like a sheet of white
paper such as our reporters here are
writing on, then the Lord could and
would dictate all our movements.
Live with a conpeience void of offence
towards God and man and the spirit
of inspiration wrould indite matter on
every such well regulated conscience.
But our consciences are made by
our parents and teachers ; and just as
we are taught by others are our con-
sciences dictated. But we should all
live so that the spirit of revelation
could dictate and write on the heart
and tell us what we should do, instead
of the traditions of our parents and
teachers. But to do this we must
becojne like little children ; and Jcsns
says if we do not we cannot enter the
kingdom of heaven. How simple it
is ! Live free from envy* malice,
wrath, strife, bitter feelings, and eviL
speaking in our families and about
our neighbors and friends, and all the
inhabitants of the earth, wherever we
meet them. Live so that our con-
sciences are free, clean and clear.
This is as simple as anything can be,
and yet it is one of the hardest things
to get people to understand, or rather
to practice ; for you may get them to
understand it, but the great difficulty
is to get them to practice it. If we,
both priest and people, will practice
this, the Spirit of the Lord can dictate
and tell us our duty, and when that
is presented before us we will go and
do it.
But, instead of such principles as
these occupying people's minds nowa-
days, it is, 14 How many wives hav£
you, Mr, Young ? Oh, I do want trf
_ Vol. XIV.
JOUUNAL OF
DISCOURSES.
ask Mr. Young how many wives he
has/' Lad 136 who come into my
office very frequently say, " I wonder
if it would hurt his feelings if I were
to ask him how many wives he has ?"
Let me say to all creation that I
would as lief they should ask me that
question as any other ; but I would
rather see tberii anxious to learn about
the Gospel, Having wives is a
secondary consideration ; it is within
the pale of duty, and consequently,
it is all right But to preach the
Gospel, save the children of men,
build up the kingdom of God, produce
righteousness in the midst of the
people; govern and control ourselves
and our families and all we have
influence over ; make us of one heart
and one mind ; to clear the world
from wickedness— this fighting and
slaying, this mischievous spirit now
80 general, and to subdue and drive
it from the face of the earth, and to
usher in and establish the reign of
universal peace, is our business, no
matter how nmny wives a man has
got, that miskes no difference here or
there. I w.ini to say, and I wish
you to publish it, that I would as
soon be asked how many wives I
have got as any other question, just
as soon ; but I would rather see some-
thing else in their minds, instead of
all the time thinking " How many
wives have yoa ; or I wonder whom
he slept with last night" I can tell
those who are curious on this point
I slept with all that slept, and we
slept on one universal bed — the bosom
of our mother earth, and we slept
together. "Did you have anybody
in bed with jou ?" " Yes/' " Who
was it ?" It was my wife, it was not
your wife, nor your daughter nor
gister, unless she was my wife, and
that too legallyTT I can say that to
all creation, and every honest man
can say the same ; but it is not all
who are prof ^sed Christians who can
say it, nnd I will say, and I am sorry
to say it, not all professed "Mormons"
can say this. hWe so that your heart
is pure and holy, and if the Lord *
Almighty gives you a wife take good
care of her, and do not be like many
of our brethren. I heard a contention
this morning between an old man and
lis family, I am ashamed to say it ;
as I said to the brethren, ** It is bad
enough to see young fools, but woise
to see old fools," You only meet
with a man occasionally who knows
enough about human nature to govern
his own family. Men, as a general
thing, do not know the dispositions ^
of their wives and children, nor how
to go vera and con trol them ; and it
is certainly a pretty close, intricate
point I have had some people ask
me how I manage and control the
people. I do it by telling them the
truth and letting them do just as they
have a mind to. I control my wives
by telling them the truth and letting
them do as they like. Will I quarrel
with them? No, I will not. Some
of them may have felt a little dis-
couraged at this. I do not know,
however, ihat they had a disposition
to quarrel ; if they have had, they are
sick of it, for they have found out
that they cannot raise the breeze.
Devils, pigs, dogs and the brute
creation quarrel. Do intelligent men
quarrel ? Yes, and men and women
will quarrel, and sometimes they
quarrel with their neighbours. I
meet with some occasionally who
need chastening, but as for quarrelling
I do not think that 1 am guilty pf it.
With these few remarks it is about
time to close. We shall meet again,
this afternoon- To satisfy my feelings
I should have to say a good deal. I
say to you who want to govern your -
wives, set them an example, con*
tinuaily, that is good. Let them say,
" There is my husband, does he do
anything that he should not do ? No,
PERSECUTION, ETC- i 163
lie does not He pray?, he is faithful,
humble, meek, full of kindness and
of good words and works, I see nothing
wrong in him/' If a man lives like
this his wife will say, "I should be
ashamed to get up a quarrel, I think j
I had better do as be says, I think he
knows better than 1 do, I will yield
my spirit to his.'* If a man pursue
this straightforward, manly, god-like
course he will find woman in her
place by his side following lum- He
is leading her, she is not leading him.
When we find an Elder of Israel do
this we find plenty of women who 1
will go along with him. And this is
the principle on which to govern a
neighborhood or nation as well as a
wife or children. When a king, ruler,
president, governor or legislative
assembly take this course, the people
\ know they are looking after the
welfare of the governed instead of
their own aggrandizement, and they
will always be glad to have them in
office, and they will not wish for a
change. When the righteous rule,
the people rejoice ; when the wicked
rule, the people mourn* This is the
secret of it ; if we govern ourselves we
can govern others.
May the Lord bless us. Amen.
DISCOURSE BY ELDER GEORGE Q. C ANN OX,
Delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday,
(Reported by David W. Evans.)
PERSECUTION — FIRST PRIX CIPLES — PRIESTHOOD.
The circumstances which surround i
us at the present time are of a very
peculiar character; probably at no
period of our history has the work of
the Last Days attracted the attention
and the curiosity of the people gene-
rally to the extend that it does to-day.
There are several reasons for this, but
that which, more than anything else
at this timt*, has directed the minds
of the world to Utah is the discoveries
of mineral in Territory. This
has undoubtedly added greatly to the
interest which has ever been felt in
this strange land, and in the strange
people who inhabit it. The best
method of disposing of us and our
system has given rise to much con-
troversy and discussion in years past
That we ought to be disposed of in
some manner has been a very general
opinion and feeling in certain quarters;
there has seemed to be a disposition
manifested by some persons to do
something so as to effect natty dispose
of the system called " Mormonism."
They have apparently felt that it was
in the way and ought to be removed,
or that something should be done to
retard its growth and progress, and
the influence which it is exercising in
the world. Did we not know through
our own bitter experience in the past
that this feeling is entertained by a
164 JOURNAL OF
great many people, it would be diffi-
cult for us to imagine that such is the
case, for an examination of our prin-
ciples, and an understanding of their
bearing, operation and effects would
certainly not lead to conclusions of
this character. So far as I myself
am concerned, if this matter were
submitted to me without my know-
ledge and past experience in relation
to it, I should say that the principles
and doctrines believed in and practiced
by the Latter-day Saints, and the
results which have been wrought out
by their operation would not have
had the effect of creating animosity
or ill will, or any feeling other than
kind, brotherly and affectionate.
What is there about this system
called " Mormonism " that should
evoke the terrible amount of animosity
and hatred which have been displayed
at various times ? The Latter-day
Saints believe in Jesus Christ, they
believe that he is the Savior of the
world; that he died for man's re-
demption; that, through his death,
we may, by obedience, be brought
iuto the presence of the Father, and
made heirs of eternal glory. The
Latter-day Saints believe that man-
kind should repent of and forsake all
sins, and be baptized in the name of
Jesus for their remission ; the Latter-
day Saints believe that they should
not only be baptized for the remission
of their sins, but that baptism should
be administered by those only who
have authority. Not vague or ill-
defined authority, based upon a com-
mission given to others centuries ago ;
but an authority proceeding from
God that will be recognized on earth
and in heaven. The Latter-day Saints
believe that, having repented of sin
and been baptized for the remission
of it, they who have complied thus
far with the Gospel requirements,
should have hands laid upon them
for the reception of the Holy Ghost;
DISCOURSES.
and that they who thus lay on hands
should have authority from God to
I officiate in this ordinance.
Is there anything about or con-
nected with this faith that should
excite opposition, create ill-feeling
and arouse hatred ? Certainly, when
we look at this dispassionately, we
must admit that there is not.
Is there anything connected with
this faith, or the principles to which
I have referred, that does not har-
monize with the Scriptures ? Peter,
who preached the first sermon of
which we have any account after the
resurrection of Jesus, declared pre-
cisely the same principles which I
have alluded to as being part of our
belief. The other Apostles taught
the same principles, and enforced
them upon the people to the extent
of their ability and power, I know
that there are difficulties and conten-
tions in the religious world as to the
mode and efficacy of baptism ; some
assert that immersion is not the true
| mode; but we are willing to stand by
the Scriptures and to abide by their
, decision, feeling assured that, if they
be taken literally, those who read
them will have a perfect conviction
I that immersion is the only true mode.
But even should there be a difference
of opinion on this point, it is not of
such a character as to stir men up in
deadly hostility towards us.
There may also be a difference of
opinion in relation to the laying on of
hands. Some may say this is only
necessary where men are ordained,
and that it is not right or proper for
all the members of the Church of
Christ to receive the imposition of
hands. But as I have said in re-
ference to baptism so I say of this
ordinance : it is clearly revealed in
the Scriptures and can readily be
substantiated from them that the
members of the Church of Christ in
ancient days had hands laid upon
PERSECUTION, ETC.
165
them for the reception of the Holy
Ghost, and that it was the ordinance
and the only ordinance instituted in
God's economy for the bestowal and
the reception of that gift.
Well, is this all the Latter-day
Saints believe in ? No. I do not
expect to be able to tell all we believe
in, or to allude to every principle this
afternoon; but these are the first
principles which we have proclaimed
to the world. In addition to these
there is another — namely, the gather-
ing together of the people of God.
Wherever the Elders of this Church
have gone they have said, and testifie 1
to the people, that the time in which
we live is the gathering dispensation
alluded to by the ancient prophets,
when God's people should be gathered
from the various nations of the earth
to one place, according to the predic-
tions of John the Re vela tor, David the
psalmist, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel,
and all other prophets whose writings
we have in this book. They, in
simplicity, have called upon the
people everywhere to repent, and to
.gather together; and these, in sub-
stance, are the principles which the
Elders of this Church have declared
unto the people wherever they have
travelled ; and it is because of these
principles and their proclamation that
so much persecution has been stirred
up.
I know very well the feelings of
the world, and perhaps of some who
are listening to-day to this brief
enunciation of our principles and the
causes of our persecutions. Say they,
" If these were the only principles
taught by the Latter-day Saints we
cannot think they would have been
persecuted, there must be something
behind this. It cannot be possible
that, in this enlightened age, men
and women should be persecuted and
reviled and their names cast out as
evil for believing these doctrines ?"
A prevalent idea has been that this
prejudice against us owes its origin
and continuation to our belief in a
plurality of wives; but when it is
recollected that the mobbiogs, driv-
ings and expulsion from cities, counties
and states which we have endured,
and our exodus to these mountains all
took place before the revelation of
that doctrine was publicly known, it
will be seen at once that our belief in
it has not been the cause of persecu-
tion, I have an idea on this point in
relation to this much-talked-of and
much-abused doctrine, and it is this:
I believe that from the day it was
taught to the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints and embraced
in the faith and lives of its members
we have risen in power and grown in
influence ; we have gained favor with
and enjoyed the protection of the
Heavens such as we never possessed
before. All the prosperity, seemingly,
that we enjoy to-day has been be-
stowed upon us since the proclamation
of that principle and its adoption by
us into our faith and practice. There
has been an almighty power hedging
us round about and encircling us
from that day until the present time;
and though men have plotted and
schemed and have devised mischief,
and formed machinations and com-
binations against the Latter-day
Saints, their schemes have fallen to
the ground j their combinations have
proved unavailing, and we have been
delivered time and time again since
we came to these valleys.
There is good reason why this is
so, If this principle be from God, as
we solemnly testify it is, surely God
would stretch forth his arm to defend
and deliver a people who would be so
valiant and trustful as to go forth in
the face of so-called civilization and
popular prejudice in the nineteenth
century, and embrace and practice
that doctrine, and assume all the
166
■lOruXAL OF DISCOURSES.
con sequences which its practice in-
volves ! Surely God, who would
reveal such a principle to his people
and call upon them to obey it, would
defend those who had the courage to
sacrifice themselves if it were neces-
sary to carry out what they believed
to be God's behest ! He would stretch
forth his arm, exert his power and
fulfill his promises to deliver those
who would thus go forth in humility
and meekness end carry out a prin-
ciple that he had revealed unto them !
This is the view which I take of
this matter* Instead of our being
left to the power of our persecutors
to a greater extent since its revelation
and practice, we have had greater
freedom and security, and have been
blessed as we never were before. It
was not on account of our belief in
this that we have been hated. Joseph
and Hyrum Smith were slain in
Carthage jail, and hundreds of per-
sons were persecuted to the death
previous to the Church having nny
knowledge of this doctrine. What
then was the cause of the persecutions
of the people, and why should they
have been singled out and made so
remarkable above other people, many
of whom believe in several of the
principles that they believed in.
There is not a religious denomination
in Christendom which does not believe
in Jesus Christ; I do not know of
one that does not believe in repenting
of sin and also in some form of
baptism. They may differ in opinion
as to the mode, efficacy and necessity
of the ordinance ; some may and do
call it essential, while others regard
it as non-essential, but it is generally
believed in ; and there are also
denominations which believe in the
laying on of hands, I do not know
of one that believes in the gathering
of the people together, still there are
people or communities who do gather
together, besides the Latter-day
Saints, What is it then that makes
us so marked ? I will explain it in a
few words, as I understand it. It is
because the Latter-day Saints believe
that God has restored from the
heavens the everlasting Priesthood —
that eternal authority by which man
acts upon the earth as the ambassador
of God. It is because we have testified
that God has restored this once more
to earth and we have received it, and
that by virtue of it we act as Apostles,
members of the seventies, high priests,
elders, bishops, priests, teachers and
deacons, and in the several offices
God has placed in his Church,
This is the secret, my brethren and
sisters and friends, of the opposition
that is and has been waged against
the Church of God, We might go
forth and preach belief in the Lord
Jesus Christ, repentance of sin, and
I baptism for the remission of sins, as
Alexander Campbell did ; we might
say, as some of the sects do, that it is
necessary to lay on hands; we might
gather the people together, and do
any or all of these things, but if we
did not have the right to exercise
heaven-bestowed authority there would
j be no particular opposition to us. Of
| course, the nearer a man draws to
God, and the more he lives according
to the plan which God has prescribed,
the more opposition he meets with.
Satan will stir up strife, animosity
and hatred against him. On this
account Luther, Calvin, John Wesley
and other reformers have been perse-
cuted. The nearer they came to the
truth, and the more zealous they were
in proclaiming it, the more opposition
they met with. Men, in reasoning
upon this subject, say that every sect,
at the commencement of its career,,
is persecuted because men are not
familiar wiih its doctrines ; but, when
they become known, opposition and
persecution cease. They predict this
about the Latter-day Saints; but the
PERSECUTION, ETC
167
troth of the matter is this : if every
new sect is persecuted, it is because
it fearlessly denounces the sins, follies
and vices of the age, and so long as
they continue this, so long are they
persecuted; but the moment they
assimilate to the world, gloss over its
follies and go with the stream and
float with the popular current, oppo-
sition ceases. This has been the case,
more or less, with every sect; but
when men predict this of the Latter-
day Saints they do not understand
the nature of the work in which we
are engaged ; they do not comprehend
the nature of the claims that we
make; they have no understanding
of the authority that we exercise.
The distinction, to which I have
referred, between us and others is
that we claim to have the Holy
Priesthood.
"But," says one, "has not this
authority always been on the earth ?
Why, ministers nave gone forfh and
preached now for centuries, authorized
by the divine commission of the
Apostles — ' Go ye into all the world
and preach the Gospel to every
creature, he that belie veth and is
baptized shall fie saved, and he that
belie veth not shall be damned.' On
the strength of this commission they
have gone forth for centuries, and
why do you Latter-day Saints claim
additional authority ? Has the
authority not existed ever since the
days of the Apostles ?"
If it has, where are its fruits, where
are its powers, and where is the proper
exercise thereof exhibited ? Shall we
go to the Church of Rome and inquire
of it ? It claims to have uninter-
rupted Apostolic descent from Peter,
down through the ages until we reach
our own day. Say the Episcopalians,
Lutherans, Calvinists, and all Protes-
tant sects, "No, she is the mother
of harlots, she has defiled herself ;
that church is false, and God has
taken from her the authority she
once had. If we go back to the
middle ages you will find that her
popes have been corrupt, and there
have been times when there were more
than one pope, and if history can be
relied on a woman once occupied the
papal chair ; therefore we Protestants
abhor her and call her the mother of
harlots ; we have come out of her and
have renounced her and her wicked-
ness. Neither she r:or her priests
have ar.y authority."
Bui the Catholic, cn the other
hand, maintains that his church and
his alone has the authority, which
Protestant Christendom declares she
has lost. And here a question arises
in my mind, for as the Protestant
churches say that the Catholic Church
is the mother of harlots, I turn to
the mother and ask who and where
are her daughters. Is Lutheranism
a daughter of hers? Is Calvinism
a daughter of hers ? Is the Church
of England, founded by Henry VIII,,
a daughter of hers? If they are
not, where are her daughters ?
Where shall we look tor them, if not
in the midst of the Protestant
churches? If I go to the Episcopa-
lians and ask them for their authority,
what reply do they give me? " We
exercise that which had comedown to
us from the Catholic Church. We
came out of that church because of
her impurity, but we brought with ua
authority to build another church,
and ours is the Church of God.
But, says the Catholic Church,
" We have severed you from us
and I, as a Latter-day Saint, say to
the Episcopalians: If the Catholid
Church had authority to give you the
priesthood, and you derived it by
imposition of hands from the Catbolio
clergy, then it had power to deprive
you of that authority ; if it had power
to bestow authority it had power to
withdraw that authority; and the
M6
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
Catholic Church did excommunicate
Henry VIII,, Latimer, Cranmer, and
all who took part in that defection,
and branded them as apostates, and,
if they had any authority, deprired
them of all they possessed. The same
is true of the Lutheran and Calvinist
churches, and all others who descended
from her.
But there is another view to be
taken of this matter. Jesus said to
his Apostles : " Go ye into all the
world and preach the Gospel to every
creature, he that belie veth and is
baptized shall be saved, but he that
believeth not shall be damned ; and
these signs shall follow them that
believe : In my name they shall cast
out devils," Ac.
Now, my Protestant brethren, if
you take one part of this commission,
why not take the whole of it ? You
eay that by virtue of this authority
which Jesus gave unto his Apostles,
you go forth and preach the Gospel ;
but if yon take this part of the com-
mission, why not take the whole, and
have the signs following them that
believe your teachings, and have
devils cast out, the sick healed, &c.
In asking these questions I do not
wish to be harsh or to reflect on any
eect, but only, in honesty, to place
the truth before you from my stand-
point Say the so-called Christians,
jn answer to the above questions :
f We do not believe in these things ;
th is power has been withheld, it was
only bestowed in the Apostolic age,
and was necessary then for the
establishment of the Gospel.1'
t If that is so, where do you find
authority for making the assertion?
If you take part of this commission
given by Christ to his Apostles, what
right have you to reject the remainder?
Why not reject the whole? I say
lhat, by a parity of reasoning, if you
take a part yon ought to take the
whole. You ennnot consistently take
one portion of Scripture and say,
" This applies to me, or is mine, and
I have a right to act by the authority
it confers and then to say of the
other, " I dismiss it, and want nothing
to do with it." That is mutilating
the word of God, and wherever you
6nd men who have authority from
God to act in his name, yon will find
these gifts and blessings attending
their administrations, just as in ancient
days*
Suppose a descendant of John
Adams, the first minister of this
government to the Court of St.
James, should find an old document
that bad been given to him by the
Continental Congress authorising him
to go and act as its minister. He
reads this document in which his
ancestor's name is mentioned and in
which he is duly empowered to act as
ambassador for the United States,
and he says, ** Here is a document, I
have it, the original that was given
to my great ancestor. I do not see
why I should not go and act as
ambassador. This document was not
given to me, it is true, but I want to
act in this capacity." He goes across
the water, travels to London, goes to
Court, and presents his document and
says, " I am empowered to act. I
am sent over by the United States as
ambassador to the Court of Great
Britain/' u Where is your commis-
sion r" " Here*" " Why, this is an
old document, it was given to John
Adams. Is that your name, and are
you the man ?" " Oh no, I am not
the man, but I am a descendant of
his/1 This would be just as consistent
as for a minister of religion in this
day to claim authority because he has
a record of the commission which
Jesus gave to his disciples. If one
case is consistent, so is the other ; if
one is not, then the other is not.
My brethren, sisters and friends,
you now, probably, begin to see the
PERSECUTION, ETC
109
i^asons why the Latter-day Saints
claim that God has restored the
authority and the everlasting priest-
hood; you now, probably, begin to
eee some reasons why God should
send his holy angels from heaven to
earth again.
: ** But," says one, " I thought there
were going to be no more angels,
prophecies or revelations, I have
teen taught that the canon of Scrip-
[ tare was full, and that it was not
necessary for God to speak again to
man on the earth,
Oh, this delusive idea ! This
damnable doctrine which has been
preached until Christendom is com-
pletely filled with unbelief, so that
the man who believes in revelation
and that there is a necessity for it is
set down as one who is unworthy the
society of his fellows ! Oh, the
dreadful effects which have followed
the proclamation of this fallacy for so
long a period ! What are the effects,
resulting from it, that we see to-day ?
Christendom rent asunder, divided
into sects and parties, the name of
Jesus derided and sneered at, and the
pure Gospel lost because of the propa-
gation, for centuries, by so* called
Christian ministers, of the soul-
destroying and damnable heresy that
God cannot or will not speak to man
again from the heavens; that God
will not reveal bis will, send his
angels, or exercise his power in the
affairs of earth as much as he did in
ancient days. Look at the effects of
this ! Travel in all our cities of the
Atlantic and Pacific, and what do yon
see? Men and women professing to
be followers of Jesus Christ, and yet
all divided and split asunder, and
quarrelling and contending — even
^ members of the same church divided
asunder. The Methodist Church
North, and the Methodist Church
South ; the Presbyterian Church
North, and the Presbyterian Church
South ; the Baptist Church North,
and the Baptist Church South, and
thus the religious world is divided
and split asunder, and there is no
authority to say what is truth or who
shall proclaim it ; there are none to
say in the midst of the people, u Thus
saith the Lord," or H Here is the path,
walk ye in it and if a man comes
forward claiming that he has this
authority he is met with the accusa-
tions :
" You are deluded, you are an im-
postor, you preach false doctrine, we
will have none of your teaching. Men
who believe in prophesy and revela-
tion are liable to be deceived, and we
are afraid of you, we do not know but
you will deceive us. Jesus said there
should be false prophets, we believe
you are one of iheni."
And thus they fortify and encase
themselves in their unbelief and reject
the word of God, and if Paul or Peter
were to rise from the dead, and go
amongst them and proclaim the prin-
ciples they taught anciently, they
would close their churches and chapels,
and would say, " We will have none
of you, you will deceive us, you are
one of the false prophets spoken of,"
forgetting that, if there are false
prophets, there will, in all probability,
also be true ones ; and that it would
be inconsistent to talk about false
prophets if there were no true ones.
There never is a counterfeit, bogus or
imitation without a true one to copy
after ! Can you wonder, brethren
and sisters, that the world is in the
condition that it is, when unbelief
has been handed down for generations,
until it permeates the minds of all,
both priest and people, even the
children learn it in the Sunday
schools, until every fibre of their
minds becomes indoctrinated with the
idea ? The present condition of the
Christian world is not to be wondered
at, the wonder is that belief and faith
170
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES
exist to the extent they do. There
are a few things more I wonld like to
say in connection with this subject
while I am upon ii One is that a
perusal of the Scriptures will clear
np one point in our minds respecting
the principle of revelation and com-
mn meat ion between God and man.
There is not a servant of God of
whom we have any account, from
Genesis to Revelations, who did not
receive revelation. Can any person
point out a man who was one of God's
servants, of whom we have any
account in the Scriptures, that did
not receive revelation ? Not one. It
may be said, and is argued, " Why is
it, if it be God's will that man should
have revelation from him, that the
world has been so long without it ?"
This is very easily explained. You
recollect that Jesus, on one occasion,
went into a certain place, and it is
said concerning him that he could
not do many mighty works there
because of the people's nubeKef
Unbelief, thcrefure, has a tendency to
prevent the communication of God's
will to man by closing the channel of
communication. And another very
good reason is that when men were
on the earth who did have these
communications they were not allowed
to live. Every such man was hunted
and persecuted, and his life was
sought after until there was not one
left who had the power, authority and
great gift and blessing to sav to the
people, " Thus saith the Lord j" and
revelation and the spirit of revelation
were withdrawn from man, and the
whole earth fell into unbelief and
darkness, and gross darkness pre-
vailed over the hearts of the people.
It is a very excellent reason why
revelation should cease when the
earth was drenched with the blood of
Heaven's messengers, and that blood
was crying for vengeance on those
who had slain them.
But there was a time predicted by
the Prophets — John saw it, and
has said in his revelations, " I saw
another angel fly in the midst of
heaven, having the everlasting Gospel
to preach unto them that dwell on
the earth, and to every nation, and
kindred, and tongue, and people,
saying with a loud voice, ' Fear God
and give glory to him, for the hour
of his judgment is come/ " Now the
testimony of the Latter-day Saints is
that God has sent this angel, and has
actually restored the Holy Priest-
hood— that authority which was held
by the Apostles and J esus in ancient
days, and by Joseph Smith, an
humble, unlearned, but God-fearing
boy, in our day, Joseph sought the
Lord diligently and earnestly to know
which was the right way; his mind
was distracted by the various claims
set forth by one sect and another, and
he was determined to seek nnto the
Lord for wisdom, for he had read in
the Epistle of James, that if any
lacked wisdom and would ask of God,
he would give liberally and upbraid
not. He did so, and the Lord com-
municated to him that in his own
time he would establish his Church
on the earth. He also told him not
to join any of the churches then in
existence, for all had departed from
the right way. Eventually he was
ordained; but in the first place,
anxious to be baptized, he sought the
Lord to know in what way he should
obtain the ordinance of baptism, and
the Lord sent an angel — John the
Baptist, him who held this authority
in ancient days and who baptized
Jesus, and he laid his hands on
the head of Joseph Smith and Oliver
Cowdery, and ordained them to this
authority, " Well," says one, " I
cannot believe this; if they could
have got it from Peter Waldo, from
the Catholic Church or the Baptist
Church, I might have believed it;.
PERSECUTION, ETC,
171
but to think that an angel came* 1
shocks me, and it is more than I can
believe. It is fanatical, and none but
fanatics believe angels come to earth ; 1
there is deception in the idea."
Oh, foolish generation ! How could
the power of God be restored from
heaven, how could the world be united
again, how could men be brought into
one fold, and how could these dissen-
sions and divisions be healed and
removed unless God exerted his
power ? When the Lord does exer-
cise power it is in his own way. If
he chooses to send an angel, he will
do so, and will not ask you or me
whether we will accept and are suited
with it or not. He sent an angel on
this occasion to restore to earth the
authority to baptize for the remission
of sins, und that messenger laid his
hands on the heads of Joseph and
Oliver and gave them that authority,
and they commenced to baptize.
But there was the authority to
baptize with the Holy Ghost, or laying
on of the hands for the reception of
the Holy Ghost, yet remaining to be
restored. All of you who arc familiar
with the experience of Philip who
baptized the eunuch, and who went
to Samaria and preached the Gospel,
know that we have no account of
hi in laying on hands for the Holy
Ghost. When the Apostles at Jeru-
salem heard that the Samaritans had
been baptized by Philip, they sent
two of their number to lay on hands
for the reception of the Holy Ghost,
These two had authority to baptize,
and they also had authority to lay on
hands ; and when they came to
Samaria they laid hands on the
baptized believers, and they received
the Holy Ghost, and they spake with
tongues and prophecied, Philip had
the same authority as John had —
namely, the authority to baptize ; but j
it appears from the record that he
had not authority to lay on hands.
This was the position of Joseph
Smith and Oliver Cowdery after
having been ordained to this priest-
hood. They had authority to baptize^
but there was something sf ill lacking.
They were men who would not run
before they were sent; they would
not claim authority that had not been
bestowed upon them. They waited
the good pleasure of the Lord find he
sent to them Peter, James and John,
You recollect that Jesus, on one
occasion, asked Peter whom men said
he, the Son of Man, was. They said
some said one thing and .some another.
Then said Jesus to them, "But whom
say ye that I am?" and Peter said,
"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the
living God." Jesus replied, " Flesh
and blood hath not revealed it unto
thee, but my Father which is in
heaven/' That is, he had not received
that knowledge from man, but from
God ; and said Jeans, " Thou art
Peter, and upon this rock I will build
my Church." What rock ? « Oh,,f
says the Catholic, " upon Peter, he
was a rock, and the Church was built
upon him." "No," say the Piotes-
tants, 11 not upon Peter, but upon
Jesus/' " Now,1' says Jesus, " upon
this rock." What rock ? The rock
of revelation— the principle upon
which he was talking. He had
spoken to Peter and told him that
flesh and blood had not imparted to
him " certain knowledge which he
possessed, but " m^ Father which is
in heaven; and upon this rock will I
build my Church, and the gates of
hell shall not prevail against it."
They never can prevail against a
Church built on the rock of revelation.
** Upon this rock will I build my
Church, and I will give unto thee,
Peter, the keys of the kingdom of
heaven j and whatsoever thou shalt
bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,
and whatsoever thou shalt loose on
earth shall be loosed in heaven."
172
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
Now this Peter, who held this
authority when it was withdrawn from
the earth, still held it as an angel in
the presence of God, What messen-
gers better adapted to the exigencies
of the case than Peter, with his two
associates, James and John, to come
and lay hands upon Joseph Smith
and ordain him to the authority to
preach the Gospel and to lay on hands
for the reception of the Holy Ghost ?"
It is the exercise of this authority,
thus bestowed, which has gained the
thousands from the various nations of
the earth that people these mountain
valleys ! It is this authority which
has enabled the Elders of this Chorch
to traverse remote continents and
islands of the sea without purse or
scrip, and, in the name of Jesus
Christ, proclaim his Gospel in its
ancient simplicity, God confirming
the word by signs following — the very
same work and the very same results
that followed the preaching of it in the
days of Peter and his fellow Apostles.
How very singular, is it not, that
Joseph Smith should have claimed to
receive the authority from John the
Baptist ! How very singular that he
should claim authority from the
ordination of Peter, James and John
— that is, if it were not true ! How
very singular ! And then, to add to
the singularity of the whole case and
to the remarkable features of it, to
think that the Elders of this Church
have accomplished a work precisely
similar in many respects to that
which the ancient Apostles accom-
plished ! Wherever they went and
the people received their testimony
they were of one heart and mind.
And has it not been so in our day ?
We find in this Territory men
representing nearly every country.
They have come here by thousands
from remote continents and isles of
the sea, and they are united, not so
much as they should be, or as they
will be ; but still there is amongst I
them a remarkable amount of union,
peace, love, and goodwill, and an
absence of litigation, drunkenness,
theft, and the evils and vices that
prevail in the world. The people
are united, and from every hamlet,
and every habitation over all this
extended country, from north to south,
their united prayers ascend morning,
noon and night to God, to bless his
servants and to bear off the Holy
Priesthood and Apostleship, Yes, in
all this land, and throughout the
earth wherever the servants of God
have gone, these same principles
prevail and are observed by those
who have received their testimony.
The Saints are united ; they sustain
the authority which God has restored ;
for be it known there is an authority
now on the earth by which men can
declare to the people, " Thus saith
the Lord/* just as we might suppose
a servant of God would do anciently.
Do I believe that Joseph Smith
was a prophet because it was told to
me in my childhood ? Do I believe
that Brigham Young is an Apostle
and prophet because it has been told
to me ? Partly, but more from the
fact that God has borne testimony to
me by the revelations of the Holy
Spirit ; and I have grown in the
belief and knowledge, and I know
that Joseph was a prophet; I know
that he was ordained of God ; I know
that he had the authority which he
professed to have, and that it is in
the Church; and I know, too, that
the same signs follow the believers
as did anciently, and the Church will
grow and increase and spread abroad.
It is on this account, my brethren
and sisters and friends, that we are so
hated, for the adversary knows it, and
hence this persecution which seems
so causeless.
May God bless us, help us to keep
bis commandments, to discern the
truth, and to cleave to it all our days,
in the name of Jesus. Amen.
DISCOURSE BY ELDER ORSON PRATT,
Delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Jtne is, ]H71.
(Reported by David W, Evans*)
THE DAY OF PENTECOST — THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT — CORNELIUS.
Let me call the attention of this
congregation to a portion of the Word
of God contained in the 46th and
47th verses of the last chapter of the
Gospel according to St Luke —
" And said unto them, Thus it is
written, and thus it behooved Christ
to suffer, and to rise from the dead
the third day.
" And that repentance and remis-
sion of sins should be preached in
his name among all nations, beginning
at Jerusalem." !
These are the words of onr Savior
to his disciples after his resurrection,
and just before he was received up
into heaven. The Apostles who
heard these words had gone forth
among the Jewish nation and
preached in their numerous cities,
towns and villages the Gospel of the
kingdom, declaring that the kingdom
of heaven was at hand. They had ,
gone forth crying repentance in the
midst of the people, and had pointed
them to Jesus as the Messiah, and
now, after the resurrection, when
Christ, in fulfillment of the prophets,
had been sacrificed for the sins of the
world, a new commission seems to
have been given them* Jesus said
unto them, " Go ye into all the world
and preach the Gospel to every
creature;" and in another place —
the last chapter of Matthew, the
commission reads : " Go ye, therefore,
and teach all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever
I have commanded you, and lo I am
with you always, even unto the end
of the world."
These Apostles received a divine
commission to preach the Gospel of
the Son of God to every people under
the whole heavens, first to the in-
habitants of Judea and Jerusalem,
They were to commence there to
fulfill this great commission ; they
were not permitted to go forth and
begin the great proclamation, to open
the door of the kingdom in all its
fullness and glory, until qualified;
but were commanded to tarry, as it
is recorded by one of the evangelists,
at Jerusalem until they were endowed
with power from on high, Then
they were to go forth to all the
world and proclaim repentance and
remission of sins, the Gospel of tho
Lord Jesus in its fullness, Jerusalem
was to be the tarrying point, until
then.
We accordingly find, as is recorded
in the first and second chapters of
the Acts of the Apostles, that they
did tarry in that city, waiting for
the power that was needful to enable
them to carry out the commission
which had been given to them. They
conld not fulfill the duties of that
great mission without power from
the heavens ; they needed something
more than human power ; they needed
that Spirit from on high which was
174
JOUHNAL OF DISCOURSES
promised thi*ra just in? fore the cruci-
fixion of Christ. Said h$, " It is
expedient for me that I go to the
Father for your sakes, for if I go
not to the Father the Comforter will
not come ; but if I go to the Father
I will seed him unto you.*' Without
this Comforter it was impossible for
them to accomplish the duties of that
great and solemn cam mission that
was given them by our Lord himself.
They needed the Comforter for various
purposes. Jesus had told them that
it should take the things of the Father
and show them unto them ; and that
it should lead them into all truth and,
show them things to come. That is,
it should make prophets and reve-
lators of them, and inspire them to
deliver the word of God to the
inhabitants of the earth. Without
this they could not magnify and honor
the office of the Apostleship, which
was the ministry to which they had
been ordained. They needed the
spirit of revelation, they needed
power to commune with the heavenly
hosts, with God the Father and with
his Son Jesus Christ, that they
might be able to impart their will to
the inhabitants of the earth, according
to the heed and diligence which
mankind might be disposed to give
unto them.
On the Day of Pentecost, a great
feast which had been observed by the
Jewish nation for many generations,
there were gathered at Jerusalem, not
only the Twelve Apostles, but also all
the disciples of Jesus who had not
apostatized, to the number of about
a hundred and twenty souls — those
of the ministry, the Seventies as well
as the Twelve. They were gathered
together in one place, in an upper
room of the Temple ; and they were
engaged in fervent prayer and suppli-
cation before the Lord. What for?
For the endowments and qualifications
necessary to assist them in the work
of the ministry* While they were
thus assembled, praying and exercis-
ing faith with one accord, in the
Lord and in his promises, they heard
a sound as of a rushing mighty wind,
and it filled all the house where they
were sitting, and there appeared to
them cloven tongues like as of fire,
and it sat upon each of them — that
is, upon the hundred and twenty souls
that were present, and they were filled
with the Spirit of God, baptized with
the Comforter, with the Holy Ghost
and with fire; they were immersed
in it, really baptized by immersion.
| After having received the Holy
Ghost or Comforter it immediately
began to make manifest a supernatural
power upon those men of God. They
were unlearned men, most of them,
or most of the principal ones, at any
rate, were unlearned ; they had been
; engaged, as we heard this forenoon,
at the business of fishing, and no
doubt had lacked the opportunities
for the acquisition of learning which
j many of the scribes, pharisees, high
priests and religious people of that
day enjoyed. The Apostles and dis-
ciples of the Lord Jesus were not
doctors of law and divinity, they had
; not been educated and qualified for
the ministry in any theological school,
seminary or university, but they
I received the Spirit of God, which
manifested unto them the will of
Heaven, and though they understood
only their mother tongue, the power
of the Spirit bestowed upon them
enabled them to speak in the various
languages and tongues of the earth,
and to declare the things of God
therein on that occasion.
There was then assembled a very
great company of Jews, also prose-
lytes, who had come from the sur-
rounding nations to Jerusalem to
keep the feast of Pentecost, according
to their usual custom, and they heard
of the marvellous work that was
T1£K DAY OF PEKTKCOtiT, ETC,
175
transpiring in the midst of this little
company, and they heard unlearned
men declaring, in the several tongues
in which they were born, the wonder-
ful works of God, This was mar-
vellous ; it was not the result of
human power, but it was by the
operation of the Holy Ghost. How-
ever, in that large congregation there
were some who were disposed to
accuse the disciples of folly. The
followers of Jesus did not belong to
the popular orders of the day, They
were not high priests; they did not
belong to the learned scribes or
pharisees, but it was known that, as
a general thing, they were illiterate
men, and when the people saw this
extraordinary manifestation of the
power of God through them many
ascribed it to theeflectsof new wine;
said they, "It cannot be anything
else," and they accused them of being
actuated on that occasion with the
spirit of intoxication or drunkenness,
But Peter, with the Eleven, stood up
in the midst of the thousands there
assembled, and opened the proclama-
tion of the Gospel at Jerusalem
according to the commission they had
received, and what we wish to under-
stand this afternoon is how, or in
what manner, did he preach on that
occasion ? In other words, what was
the plan of salvation he declared to
the thousands of the children of men
then gathered together ? If we can
find this out, we can ascertain what
the Gospel is.
When they were accused of being
under the influence of new wine,
Peter, holding the keys of the king-
dom, stood up and said, " This is not
the effect of new wine, as ye suppose;"
and as an argument to prove that
they were not intoxicated he informed
them that it was only the third hour
of the day. In those days, probably,
people did not get drunk at all hours,
as they do in these, and according to
the custom then, the third hour was
too soon. Well, if the effects now
made manifest to the people are not
the results of drinking new wine, to
what do you ascribe them ? Said
Peter, " This is that which was spoken
of by the Prophet Joel, who says,
1 And it shall come to pass in the last
days, saith God, that I will pour out
I my Spirit ou all flesh ; your sons and
your daughters shall prophecy j your
old men shall dieam dreams, your
young men shall soe visions, and upon
my servants and handmaidens will I
pour out of my Spirit, in those days,
and they shall prophecy ; and I will
show wonders in the heavens above,
and signs in the e u th beneath, blood
and fire and vapour of smoke; the
sun shall be darkened and the moon
shall be turned into blood, before the
great and notable day of the Lord
shall come.* " Here, then, was a
prophecy repeat oil by the Apostle
Peter to prove what was the cause of
the effects manifested on that occasion*
There is one thing in relation to
this quotation from the prophecies of
Joel to which 1 wish to call your
special attention. Peter did not say,
this is the fulfillment of Joel's pro-
phecy, for we all know that it was
not then fulfilled. The Spirit was
not poured out upon all flesh ; all men
and women were not made prophets
I on that occasion, consequently the
prophecy was not fulfilled* Peter
; said, " These cloven tongues of fire,
| and this Spirit that has been poured
out upon these hundred and twenty
individuals is the same Spirit which
Joel said should be poured out in the
last days upon all flesh," That
promise, down to the nineteenth
century, has never been fulfilled;
the Spirit has never yet been
poured out upon all flesh, making all
men and women living, prophets,
seers, revelators, &c. The work was
begun on the day of Pentecost ; but
176 JOURNAL OF
the sun was not darkened on tbat
occasion! nor the moon turned into
blood ; the signs that were to precede
the second coming of the Son of God
were not then shown forth, and con-
sequently the prophecy was not ful-
filled. It yet remains to be fulfilled.
I would like to ask what are we going
to do with the whole Christian world,
which declare that there are to be no
more prophets, revelators or inspired
men, when the word of the Lord
through Joel says all flesh are to
become prophets — that is, all who
are spared on the earth, for there will
be a tremendous destruction before
that is fulfilled? The wicked will
be swept from the earth, and all who
remain will become revelators, pro-
phets and inspired men, getting visions
and revelations and foretelling the
future, What shall we do with the
sayings that have gone forth and
been inculcated and promulgated by
numerous sects and parties, that the
day of visions, revelations and pro-
phecies has passed? But we will
pass on.
After having quoted this prophecy,
to show that the Spirit that man
should receive under the Gospel
dispensation was to give them reve-
lation and prophecy, and to show
that the Spirit then being poured
out was that spoken of by Joeh the
Apostle refers to what Davia the
psalmist said about Jesus, and about
his sufferings, death and resurrection ;
and having quoted what the prophets
— witnesses that were dead, had to
say about the Holy One, they, as
living persons, the oracles of God
then in the midst of the people, bore
witness that Jesus was the very
Christ, and that the Jews had*put to
death the Holy One ; these combined
testimonies convinced many that
Jesus was indeed the Messiah. This
was not a popular doctrine in those
days, as it is now. There are millions
DISCOURSES.
at the present day with whom it is
popular to believe in Christ ; they do
so traditionally, and because it is
customary in the nations where they
were born; they believe it because
they have had millions of copies of
the word of God published in their
midst, and spread broadcast over the
nations of Christendom. But in
those days very few believed it, the
very great majority of the people
believed him to be a wicked impostor,,
and regarded him as the offscouring
of all things, the friend of publicans
and sinners; and they said that he
cast out devils by the power of Beel-
zebub; they called him a Sabbath-
breaker, a wicked man, and so on ;
and the most religious people of those
days were bis greatest persecutors!,
and as they had influence over the
rest it was very unpopular indeed to
believe that he was the true Messiah.
But the arguments brought forth in
the first Christian sermon after the
resurrection of Christ were sufficient
to send conviction into the hearts of
many thousands of people. They
believed or professed to believe in
their ancient prophets, and when they
were quoted in relation to Jesus, and
the testimony of living witnesses .was
borne they cried out, in the anguish
of their hearts, u Men and brethren,
what shall we do ?" As much as to
gay, we see that our nation has
crucified Jesus, the Christ; we thought
he was an impostor and that he ought
to die, but now we are convinced that
he is the Holy One, and that he has
indeed risen from the dead ; and i&
there any salvation for our nation*
seeing that it has put Jesus to death f
These were the feelings of sincerfet
sin-convicted persons on that occasion j
and they cried, u Men and brethrei^
what shall we do ? "
I sometimes think that if they had
lived in our day they would have had
so many ways pointed out to obtain
i
*
THE DAY OF PENTECOST, ETC,
the forgiveness of their sins that they i
would not have -known which way to
tarn, and perhaps would not have had
much confidence in what was said to
the n on the subject. But these men,
being under the influence of the
Comforter, the Holy Ghost, knew
precisely what these convicted sinners
should do in order to obtain the
pardun of their sins. Now mark the !
answer, and see if it a^ree with the ,
ways taught by the Christian sects.
Peter said onto these inquiring souls,
who believed and were pricked in
their hearts, for belief comes before
repentance, for a person who did not
believe would not repent, Peter said, ,
" Repent." What more? Come to
the mourner's bench ?" Oh no, that
is not written there. Come here
to the a mercy seat, and be prayed
for?" Oh no, nothing of that kind
was said. Then what else were they
to do besides repent ? Said Peter,
"Repent and be baptized every one
of you, in the name of Jesus Christ,
for the remission of your sins, and
ymi shall receive the Holy Ghost"
What do yon mean, Peter, by the
Holy Ghost? Do you mean that
same Holy Spirit — the Comforter
that you have jiut received, and that
has rested upon the hundred and
twenty individuals who are followers
of Christ ? Yes, for he bad just told
them that it was the effects of the
Holy Spirit which they had been
witnessing, and they, no doubt, felt
anxious to receive the same, for the
Holy Spirit was that which would
enable them to prophecy, see visions,
dream dreanis, and guide them into
all truth, reveal unto them the things
of the Father, and show them things
to come, hence it was a Spirit greatly
to be desired, and they wished to
know how they might obtain it; and
here was the pith. It is very plain
and very simple. Can it be wondered
at, then, that so few in Salt Lake
No. 12, 1
17H i
City wanted to go to the ** Mourner's <
bench/1 at the Methodist camp meet*,
in?, after having heard and obeyed,
these principles? No. They have
heard these principles for years and
years, and having tested them, the
fables of sectarianism possess no
charms for them.
Seeing then that the pardon of sins
is what the penitent soul desires, how
is he to obtain it ? By being baptized.; J
What ? Do yon mean to say that
sinners can obtain pardon by being
baptized in water? 14 What effect,"
inquires one, " has water in washing
away sins f " It would have no effect
whatever if God had instituted soma
other way j but, seeing that he has t
not, but bus commanded sinners, first f
to believe that Jesus is the Christ;
second, to repent of their sins ; and
third, to be baptized for the remission
of their sins in his name, that is the
right way; and though the water#
independent of the blood and atone-
ment of Christ and the commandment
of God, has no efficacy whatever ta
wash away sins, yet it has great \
power because of these things, for the
man that complies with this ordinance
witnesses to God that he believes in
Jesus and bis Gospel and is willing {
to comply with its requirements. But
if men should saj, "There is no
efficacy in water, and we will take
some other way to obtain the pardon
of our sins; the water is only to [§
answer a good conscience towards
GoJ, and is not particularly essential,'*
do you think they would obtain the
pardon of their sins, after hearing the
Gospel preached in its purity antj
fullness by a man having authority ,
from God ? They might pray until
they were as old as Metbusdebj
" Lord pardon, forgive and blot out j
our sins,11 but do you think the Lord c
would hear them? Not at all Why 1
not P u la it not written," says a ,
person of this class, ** that the Lord |
Vol XIV.
178 JOURNAL OF
is more willing to give his Holy
Spirit to them that ask him than
earthly parents are to give good gifts
to their children ?*' Yes, but it most
be remembered that this is written of
those who have believed, repented,
and o' eyed the Gospel ; it was not
written concerning unbelievers and
the disobedient. When they have
Once believed in Jesus Christ and
Lave been baptized for the remission
of their sins, they can call npon God
in all confidence and he is more willing
to give his Holy Spirit unto them
than earthly parents are to give good
gifts unto their children, and you
know how willing they are to do that,
for they like to see their children
joyful and happy. So it is with our
Heavenly Father, He likes to see
his children who have repented and
obeyed his Gospel joyful and happy,
and he is willing to give good gifts
unto them ; but he never can to those
who do not keep his commandments.
They may pray nntil they are grey,
beaded and they are about to fall
into their graves and their sins would
not be pardoned.
But again, Peter informs the
inquiring believers on the Day of
Pentecost that if they would repent
and be baptized they should not only
receive the remission of their sins,
but they should also receive the Holy
Ghost Was this promise only to
the people then present ? No, for if
we read the next verse we find that
**tbe promise is to yon and to yonr
children, and to all that are afar off,
even to as many as the Lord oar God !
shall call" Is not that promise
universal — to every people, nation,
kindred and tongue, Jew and Gentile,
bond and free ? Yes, the promise is
to all the Lord our God shall call ;
not only to the three thousand bap-
tized on that occasion, but to all afar
off Does not that scope in all
languages, nations, kindred and ton- [
DISCOURSES.
I gues ? Yes. What ! shall they all
receive the Holy Ghost? Yes, if
they will comply with these con-
ditions. Shall they all be pardoned
if they will repent and be biptized in
the name of Jesus for the remission
of their sins? Yes. Now, what
effect would that vast multitude expect
to follow the reception of the Holy
Ghost by them ? Supposing this con.
gregation had been present eighteen
centuries ago at Jerusalem at the first
Gospel sermon preached after the
ascension of Christ, and that, in the
! anguish of your hearts yon had in.
quired what you must do to receive
the pardon of your sins and how you
could obtain the Holy Ghost, and
what effects that Holy Ghost would
have had upon you, would you not
have expected to receive something
precisely similar to what the hundred
and twenty had received upon whom
it was poured out ? Could you have
expected anything else? No. But
it is very different with the Christian
sects to-day ; they think the Holy
Ghost will perform everything ascribed
to it except the supernatural powers
and eff-cts ; but when it comes to re-
velation, prophecy, dreaming dreams,
foretelling future events, casting out
devils, healing the sick, discerning of
spirits, speaking in and interpreting
other languages and tongues, they
boldly declare, as 1 heard in my
boyhood, and again during the past
week, that these wonderful and
miraculous gifts were only intended
for that day and age of the world.
All the other effects are to continue,
but they are to cease. The Spirit is
to purify, sanctify,justify,togive love,
joy, peace, long-suffering, patience,
hope, and all these great and glorious
effects that are promised in the word
of God; but when it comes to these
other effects, they are all to be done
away. By whom ? By Christendom,
by those professing to be the teachers
THE DAY OF PENTECOST, ETC
179
and leaders of the people. By what
authority do they do these things
away ? Can they find within the
lids of this Holy Bible, from beginning
to end 5 that a period should ever
arrive, so long as there was one soul
on the earth to he saved or pardoned
of its sins, that these miraculous
effects should cease, No, they have
taken this responsibility upon them
selves, and it is a very fearful respon-
sibility indeed to say that they are
done away, I would not dare to do
it, I should be afraid of fulfilling that
prophecy delivered by Paul, when he
says (hat, "Tn the last days perilous
times shall come; men shall be lovers
of their own selves, proud, boasters,
blasphemers, disobedient to parents,
unthankful, nnholy, without natural
affection, truce-breakers, incontinent,
despisers of those that are good,
traitors, heady, high-minded, having
a form of godliness, but denying the
power thereof," L do not want to
come under the declaration of Paul ;
I do not want to he numbered with
those who fulfil this prediction that
be uttered about the people of the
latter days. He was not speaking
altogether of the wicked world that
made no profession of religion- He
was not referring to atheists and
deists, and those who did not profess
Christianity ; but of professed re-
ligionists, people who profess to be-
lieve in the Bible and in Jesus, having
the form of godliness, but denying
the power thereof.
If you enn tell me any way by
which the power of godliness can be
more effectually denied than to do
away the effects of the Holy Spirit as
they were manifested on the Day of
* Pentecost and in all the Christian
churches so long as there were any
on the earth ; I say if there is any
more effectual way of denying the ;
power of godliness than to do away
with this power and say it is not
necessary, I do not comprehend it.
I, myself, should not know how to
deny the power of godliness any
more effectually than to say these
things were done away* And yet
when I was a youth, before I was
nineteen years of age, I used to attend
Methodist meetings mostly, though I
never joined any society ; and I heard
these ideas advanced from their
pulpits; there was to be no such
thing as healing the sick in the name
of Jesus ; no such thing as foretelling
future events; no such thing as
obtaining new revelation, for the
canon of Scripture was closed ; no
such tiling as receiving the gift of
discerning of spirits, or beholding
angels and ministering spirits; no
such thing as speaking in other
tongues or languages by the Spirit
of God. I heard all these things
preached then, and I heard them
again last week at the Methodist
camp meeting here in this city, I
did not know but spiritualism, so-
called, had made a change in the
world during the last forty-one years ;
but I find that the same old story
still exists as in the days of my youth.
They still cry, "All these things are
done away, they are not necessary in
this age of the Christian world/*
Who told you they were not
necessary ? Has God spoken anew
and told you that revelation had
ceased to exist? Why, no, that
would be a contradiction in terms,
that would be a new revelation, if he
had spoken anew. How did you find
out, then, that they were not neces-
sary ? I cannot find it in the Scrip-
tures, indeed I find directly to the
contrary — that they are necessary ;
and here let me quote a passage that
was quoted this forenoon, in the 4th
chapter of Ephesians. Speaking of
the gifts that Jesus gave, the Apostle
says when he ascended up on high
he led captivity captive and gave
180
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
gifU nnto men. I have already
repeated the gifts he did give through
the inspiration and power of the Holy
Ghoht, that was made manifest upon
those who obeyed the Gospel. He
gave, s*tys the Apostle in this fourth
chapter, some apostles, some prophets,
some evangelists, pastors and teachers,
besides all these other miraculous
gifts I have named.
Now let us see if we can ascertain
from the following verses how long
these gifte were to continue in the
Christian Church. That will pettle
the question. They were given, said
he, for the perfecting of the Saints,
Before we proceed to the other
reasons for which they were given,
let us examine this first for a moment :
" They were given for the perfecting
of the Saints." I have heard Chris-
tian ministers, that ought to know
better, misleading the world and their
congregations, by declaring that these
gifts were given to convince the world
of mankind who were unbelievers in
ancient days, and to establish Chris-
tianity in the earth, and the latter
once done on a firm foundation, they
were no longer needed.
We will now see what Paul says.
"They were given for the perfecting
of the Saints." Indeed ! are there
Saints in these days in New York, in
the New England States, in the
Southern and in the Northern States,
in Gn at Britain and in the nations
of Europe, and among all the nations
of what is termed modern Christen-
dom ? " Oh, yes/* says one, u we
have over two hundred millions of
Christians among all these nations/'
Indeed, then you have these gifts, I
suppose; for remember they were
given for the perfecting of the Saints.
Do you mean to tell me that there
are Saints, and they have all become
perfect ? ** Oh, no," says one, " we
do not pretend to say that the Roman
Catholic, the Greek Church, and all
the various denominations of the
Protestant Churches have become
perfect yet." Very well, these gifts
were given for the perfecting of the
Saints, and if you are Saints where
are your gifts ? for does it not follow
that if you have no gifts you are
either perfect Saints or not Saints at
all ? for if you are not perfect Saints
these gifts must be among you. Do
you know any way to perfect Saints
independent of these gifts ? I do not,
If the Bible has taught any other way
I have never happened to find it. I
know of no way in which Saints can
be perfected without inspired Apostles
and prophets and the gifts here
named. But see the inconsistency I
am now about to point out ! Here
are five gifts named that Jesus gave
when he ascended up on high. The
first one is an Apostle, the second is
a prophet; then come evangelists,
pastors and teachers ; and we might
go on and enumerate eight or ten
more gifts that were given. Now,
why split these verses in two? I
ask all Christendom why do they
separate these verses in two, and say,
"We will believe that pastors and
teachers and evangelists are necessary
in all ages of Christendom to perfect
the Saints, but when it comes to
the other two gifts — Apostles and
prophets, they are not necessary?"
Why ? Because it involves a mira-
culous power. An Apostle must
have revelation and the power of
inspiration to get more Scripture;
and if this were allowed it would
overturn their creeds, and the power
of godliness would again be upon the
earth, and the Christian sects cannot
bear the idea that there should be
any such thing as the power of reve-
lation or vision, or the power to
understand the future ; no, that is all
done away. Has Jesus told you to
make this separation in the gifts, to
retain some of them and say the others
THE DAY OF PENTECOST, ETC,
181
are done away ? Is there any more I
right, in the nineteenth century, than
of a preceding period, for the bead,
in the human body, to say to the
hand, " I have no need of thee ?°
No, the hand is just as necessary now
as in the first century of the Christian
era ; hence evangelists, pastors and
teachers, which are still believed in
as being necessary to perfect the
Saints, have no right to say to the
Apostle or the prophet, " We have no
need of thee in the Church,"
But the gifts ot the Spirit were
not only given for the perfecting of
the Saints; there was another object
in viesv — they were for the woik of
the ministry. Now I presume that
the two hundred millions of Christians
will not pretend to deny that the
work of the ministry is needed ; and
if the work ot the ministry is needed
then are inspired Apostles and pro-
phets needed, for they were given for
the work of the ministry as well as
to perfect the Saints ; su long, there-
fore, as the work of the ministry
is needed there should be inspired
prophets and Apostles on the
earth.
A third object for which they were
given was the edifying of the body of 1
Christ. Now I really believe that
the body of Christ, if it can be found
on the earth, needs edifying, tin less
its members have come to that perfect
day that is spoken of in the 13th 1
chapter of Paul's first epistle to the
Corinthians. Let me refer to that
chapter, for it furnishes an additional
proof that these gifts were to continue
in the true Church ; not, of course,
among apostate Christendom, among
those who have no authority. Speak-
ing of charity, the Apostle says —
14 Charity never faileth ; but whe- '
ther there be prophecies, they shall
fail; whether there l>e tongues, they
shall cease ; whether there be know- '
ledge, it shall vanish away.
| " Fop we know in part, and we
, prophesy in part.
44 But when that which is perfect
is come, then that which is in part
shall be done away.
? Wheu I was a child, I spake as a
child, I understood as a child, I
thought as a child ; hut when I
became a man, 1 put away childish
things.
"For now we see through a glass
darkly, but then face to face; now I
know in part, hut then shall I know
even as also I am known. "
Now, here is proof positive ; this
shows how long these spiritual gifts
wuuld be needed. Now we know in
part and prophecy in part, but when
that which is perfect "8 come that
which is in part shall be done away.
As much as to say that while the
Church remains in this mortal state
we are but children in Christ Jesus.
Here we only know in part and
prophecy in part ; we spesik in ton-
gues, and so on ; but when that which
is perfect is come that which Ls in
part shall be done away. Now can
any one tell me whether that day of
perfection has come for the Church
or not? It it has, these gilts should
be done away ; but if not, they should
still remain. Can we find any clue
in the words I have quoted to the
nature of the period when the Saints
shall come to perfection ! Yes. Here
i in this life, we only know in part, we
prophecy in part, but when that
which is perfect is come then that
which is in part shall be done away.
Now we see through a glass darklyt
that is while the Church is in this
mortal state; but when that which
is perfect is come we shall see fi ice to
face. This shows that we shall be in
our immortal state before these gifts
are done away — 1 mean in the true
Church, of course they will not be in
false churches ; but in the true Church
they will always exist, until we know
■toi KNAL OF
DISCOURSES.
even us wo arc known j when wecouie
into the presence of the Aim igh tyt
when the veil is rent asunder, and we
look upon the face of God the Father
and his Son Jesus Christ. We shall
not know in part in that dtiy, nor
prophecy in part ; neither shall wo
heal the side there; there will be no
gift of healing needed, for there will
be no one to be healed. Neither shall
we speak in tongues then ; tongues
will cease ; for the Lord will turn unto
his people a pure language. They
will have the language of angels, the
language of God the Father, and will
all understand one another and will
have no need of the gift of tongues.
Here, then, are evidences that the
Christian world cannot get rid of ;
here are testimonies that condemn
the whole of them ; not only those
of this generation, but all who have
lived during seventeen centuries that
are passed who have had the wicked-
ness in their hearts to say, "The
power of godliness is not needed in
our day," and that the canon of
Scripture is closed, and there must be
no more prophets to receive new
Scripture.
The gifts which I have been
describing are the effects of the
Holy Ghost. Now we hear almost
every society praying the Lord to
send the H< >ly U host. Their cry is,
"Let the Holy Ghost come down
upon us now ■ let it be with us this
very moment ; let us have its influence
and enjoy its operations now." But
they know nothing about it; they
have never received the Holy Ghost,
neither can they until they comply
with the Gospel ordinances — repent
of their sins and be baptized for their
remission, "But," sayB one, "do
not you remember good old Cornelius?
was he baptized ?" No, he received
the Holy Ghost before baptism. But
had he any promise of it before P
No* The Lord, on that occasion, had
a special object in view, which ia
named in the history of the transac-
tion. Cornelius seems to have been
the first Gentile, whom the Apostle
Peter, in opening the door of the
Gospel to the Gentiles, was com-
manded to visit. The Jewish nation
was exceedingly prejudiced against
the Gentiles. Peter happened to
have six proselyte from the Jewish
nation with him on that occasion.
Oh, how bitter they were against the
Gentiles ! They thought the Gentiles
had no part or lot in the matter ;
and notwithstanding the commission
that the Lord had given to the
Apostles he had to work a miracle to
convince Peter, so strong were the
prejudices of the Jews that the Holy
Ghost and the Gospel blessings were
not for the Gentiles. You recollect
Peter's vision, in which the Lord let
down a sheet by the four corners, full
of all manner of beasts, clean and
unclean, and Peter being commanded
to arise, slay and eat ; and his not
being willing to do it because it was
contrary to the law of Moses. But
he was told that the Lord had cleansed
the contents of the sheet, and he was
forbidden on that account to call it
common or unclean. You recollect
that the Lord sent an angel, as he
always does when he has a Church
on the earth, to a certain man called
Cornelius. This man had been pray-
ing, he wanted to know how to be
saved. The Lord had heard his
piayers, and had sent an angel to
him, and the angel said to him,
u Cornelius, thy prayers are heard,
and have come up before the Lord as
a memorial. Now send to Joppa for
one Simon, whose surname is Peter,
and he will tell you words whereby
you and your house will be saved."
What! Cornelius not in a state of
salvation, and he a praying man ?
No doubt he was in a state of salva-
tion, so far as he understood ; but he
THE DAY OF PENTECObT, ETl'.
183
was ignorant and did not understand
how to get into the celestial kingdom.
He knew nothing about the birth of
the water and of the Spirit, that we
beard about this forenoon, withont
which no man can enter into the
kingdom of God. Yet he bad given
much alms, and his prayers had come
tip as a memorial before God, and the
Lord had pity on his ignorance and
sent an angel to him. But the angel
did not see proper to tell hira what
to do to get into a more full state of
conversion ; he simply told him to
send for Peter — a man of God,
promising him that he would tell
him how to be saved. Peter, being
warned beforehand, by the vision,
went down to the house of Cornelius,
nothing doubting, taking these six
Jewish converts with him, full of all
their Jewish prejudices. When Cor-
nel ins had given an account of the
visit of the angel to him, Peter began
to preach Christ and him crucified,
and while he was speaking the Holy
Ghost fell on Cornelius and his house-
hold, and they spake with tongues
and magnified God.
Do you suppose that the Holy
Spirit cuuld have been retained by
Cornelius supposing he had refused
to obey the ordinances of the Gospel ?
No, it was only given as a witness
and testimony to convince the Jewish
brethren, who were with Peter, that
the Gentiles might have salvation as
well as the Jews; for when they
began to speak in tongues, under the
influence of the Holy Ghost, Peter
turned to his Jewish brethren, and
said, 14 Who can forbid water that
these should not be baptized ?" and
he commanded them, in the name of
the Lord Jesus, to br baptized. What,
a command ? 3Tes. Had Peter the
right to give that command ? Yes;
for the angel of the Lord had said to
Cornelius, 11 He shall tell you words
whereby you and your house shall be
saved," and his command to them to
be baptized was some of his words
unto them*
Supposing that Cornelius had said,
" Oh, baptism is not essential, it ia
not among the fundamental principles
of salvation; it is one of the non-
essential, outward ordinances, etc., and
and is of no consequence, I have
received the Holy Ghost, I am a
Christian, I believe in your words;
I have offered my alms to the poor,
and they have come up before the
Lord ; I am good enough, there is no
need for me to be baptized," how long
would the Holy Ghost have remained
with htm ? Just the moment that
he had refused to obey this command-
ment the Holy Ghost would have fled
from him and his house. The only
way for tim to retain the gift that
comes through obedience was to be
bapt ized, though on that occasion it
was given without promise, and with-
out baptism. Baptism, recollect, iff
for the remission of sins, and the
Holy Ghost comes afterwards; but
on this occasion it was given before
it ; but he could not have retained it,
it would have left him, and he would
have been in seeen-fold greater dark
ness than before had he refused to
obey the words of this inspired mes-
senger. The Jewish brethren could
not forbid water after the manifesta-
tion of the power of God on that
occasion; their prejudices were done
away by a miracle. 1 |
Now, because the Lord varied* on
that one occasion and gave the Holy
Ghost before baptism, how many
there are who want to do away
with baptism, and to seek some other
way for those who are convicted and
laboring under a feeling of sorrow
and mourning for their sins; but
there is an ordinance connected with
the receiving of the Holy Ghost. \ If
there is an ordinance connected with
the baptism of water, so there is in
184
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
relation to the higher baptism ; and
« the Lord made his servants, the
Apostles, ministers not only of the
*pord, but also of the Spirit. They
* *#ere able ministers of the Spirit;
* that is, they bad authority to ad-
minister the Spiri t They could not
* 'do it of themselves; but when God
calls a man and gives him authority
by revelation and sends him to preach
bis Gospel, and people listen to that
Gospel and are willing to be baptized,
that man has the right to baptize
them ; and if he is ordained to the
Apostleship or to those offices that
have the power to administer the
higher ordinance of the laying on of
bands, and he lays hands on, God
will acknowledge that ordinance. He
frill acknowledge baptism by giving
- remission of sins; and he will acknow-
ledge the laying on of bands by
Bending from heaven tbe gift of the
Holy Ghost Indeed, in ancient
days, when Paul went to Ephesus he
found certain persons there who had
-been baptized. They thought, no
doubt, they were very pious, and
perhaps concluded that they were in
' m state of salvation* They had heard
6f and received what was called
John's baptism, but when Paul asked
them if they had received the Holy
* Ghost since believing they said they
had not so much as hoard whether
there be any Holy Ghost. Then
Paul perceived that they had been
taught by some impostor — some
* * person who h«d no authority, who
-pretended to he preaching John's
doctrine, who had told them nothing
about the Holy Ghost. John, when
he baptized the people, told them
1 1 there was one coming after him
mightier than be who baptized with
the Holy Ghont and with fire; but
' these Ephesians had been taught by
'fiome person who had no authority,
1 < and who had left out a part of the
doctrine of salvation, as preached by
John, just as the Christian sects do
at the present day. Paul saw that
their baptism was illegal, and he
preached unto them Jesus Christ, and
when they had heard this they were
baptized in the name of the Lord
Jesus, and when Paul laid his hands
upon them the Holy Ghost fell upon
them and they spoke with tongues
and prophecied.
Again, when Philip went to the
city of Samaria and preached Christ
to the people, he had no right to
administer tho higher ordinances of
the laying on of hands; he had not
been ordained to the power. He had
the right to baptize them in water
and he baptized a large number of
men and women among them ; and
when the Apostles who were at
Jerusalem heard that Samaria had
received the word of God they sent
unto them Peter and John, who,
when they cjime down, prayed for
them, that they miyht receive the
Holy Ghost, for as yet he was fallen
on none of them: and they laid their
hands upon them, and they received
the Holy Ghost £
Do you not see that this higher
blessing of the baptism of tire and of
the Holy Ghost comes through the
laying on of hands, which is an
ordinance just as much as baptism by
water, both of which have to be
administered by a man called of Godf
or the Lord will have nothiug to do
with it.
We have thus pointed out to sinners,
this day, how they may be converted.
How do you like it ? Is it according
to Scripture? If it is not reject it;
but it is the same doctrine that we
have taught for forty -one years in
this Church* It is the same doctrine
that has been published by the Latter-
day Saints throughout the length and
breadth of our Union ; it is the s;ime
doctrine that we have carried to the
nations afar off; it is the same doctrine
■
THE HOLY SPIRIT, ETC.
185
that the Lord sent an holy angel to
deliver to Joseph Smith — a youth,
and commanded him to preach, and
ordained him to the Apostleship,
commanding him, by revelation, to
ordain others ; it is the same doctrine
that tens of thousands have received.
Do they receive the promises ? Is
the Holy Ghost given ? If it is, all
these gifts are given ; and if the
Latter-day Saints are not in possession
of these gifts, they are not in possession
of the Gospel, and are no better off
than the Baptists, Methodists or
Presbyterians, and we all know they
have not the Gospel ; we all know \
they have not the power of God
among them. They do not believe ;
in it, they say it is done away. We
all understand this. Well, Latter-
day Saints, you are no better if you
have not these gifts. Bat you have
had forty-one years' experience, and
I think yon know whether you have
them or not. If you have, blessed
ai e ye ; but if you have them not, it
is time you waked up and began to
hunt around for the Gospel if it can
be found on the earth. If you have
not these gifts, then the an*;el has
not come with the Gospel according
to promise; but if you have, the
angel of God has flown through the
midst of heaven and committed the
everlasting Gospel to the children of
men, and you have been the receivers
of it. Amen,
DISCOURSE BY ELDER JOHN TAYLOR,
Delivekeo in the Taberxacle, Salt Lake City, March 20, 1870.
{Reported by David W. Evans.)
THE HOLY SPIRIT — THE KNOWLEDGE BROUGHT BY OBEDIENCE TO THE
GOSPEL — THE LABORS OF THE ELDERS.
When we meet together on an things of time and sense ; for in
occasion like the present our thoughts ' partaking of the Sacrament we not
and reflections vary as much as our only commemoiate the death and
countenances. We meet for the j sufferings of our Lord and Savior
avowed purpose of worshipping the Jesus Christ, but we also^ shadow
Lord and we expect to receive in-' forth the time when he will come
structions from those who addrehS us. again and when we shall meet and
I always consider it a very great eat bread with him in the kingdom
privilege to assemble with the Saints of God. When we are thus assembled
of God. We have met to partake of together we may expect to receive
the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, guidance and blessings from God,
and we should endeavor to draw from whom, the Scriptures inform
away our feelings and affections from ; ns, every good and perfect gift pro-
JOURNAL OF
ins* ui ksks.
ceeds;" and in him, we are also
informed, u there is no variableness
nor shadow of turning." In our
assemblies they who speak and they
who hear ooght to be under the
guidance and direction of the Lord,
the Fountain of Light. Of all people
under the heavens we, Latter-day
Saints, do continually realize the
necessity of leaning upon God j for
I look upon it that } no matter what
intelligence may be communicated,
no matter how brilliant the speech
and edifying the ideas communicated
may be, they will not benefit those
who he ar unless they are under the
guidance and inspiration of the Spirit
of God, for the Scriptures say, ** The
light shineth in the darkness, but the
darkness oomprehendeth it not"
Tins is piecisely the case in our
presiding in the world. We go
among the wicked, but they do not
understand us ; they understand not
the truth, the light of revelation, nor
the power of God. The Elders now
going forth into the world are pretty
much in the same position as those
who went forth in former times on
the same mission. It is said of Jesus
that 11 He came to his own, but his
own received him not; but as many
as did receive him to them gave he
power to become the sons of God,
even to as many as believed on his*
name, which were born not ofi the
flesh, nor of the word of man, nor of
man, but of God born of the Spirit
of God, and hence they became new
creatures in Christ Jesus. Having
partaken of the Holy Spirit and
received the forgiveness of their sins,
they were brought into relationship
with him, they became the offspring
of Heaven and members of the family
of God. This was th* position that
the Saints of God enjoyed in Ibrmer
times; and this is the position that
we occupy to-day. The Apostle says
the Saints were heirs of God and
jointheirs with Jesus Christ; and he
says further, that if we suffer with
him we shall also reign with him
that both may be glorified together.
It is very difficult for men of the
world to understand these principles,
and only by the light of revelation
can they be comprehended. We are
told that a portion of the Spirit of
God is given to every man to profit
withal ; and if men improve upon
that, and are honest and full of in-
tegrity, when they hear the truth
they realize and understand it; it is
to them life and health and salvation.
Hence Jesus said, wMy sheep hear
my voice and know me and follow
me; but a stranger will they not
follow, because they know not the
voice of a stranger.'9
It is very pleasant for those who
comprehend it to reflect upon the
relationship they sustain to God and
his kingdom and to each other; but
these things have no charms for men
of the world, whose minds are not
enlightened by the Spirit of truth,
and who, consequently, do not com-
prehend the Gospel or the power of
God. The principles of the Gospel,
to the unbeliever, have neither worth
nor efficacy ; but with us, who believe
them, they comprehend everything
pertaining to the well-being of man
in time and eternity ; with us the
Gospel is the Alpha and Omeg^, the
beginning and the end ; it is inter-
woven with all our interests, happi-
ness and enjoyment, whether in this
life or that which is to come. We
consider that, when weenter into this
Church and embrace the new and
everlasting covenant, it is a life-long
service and affects us in all the rela-
tionships of time and eternity; and
as we progress, these ideas which, at
first, were a ltttle dim and obscuref
become more vivid, real, life-like,
tangible and clear to our comprehen-
| sions, and we realize that we stand
THK HOLY SPIRIT, ETC,
187
upon the earth as the eons and
daughters of God, the representatives
ol heaven. We feel that God has
revealed to us an everlasting Gospel,
at id that associated with that are
everlasting covenants and relation-
ships. The Gospel, in the incipient
stages of its operations, begins, as
the Prophet said it should, to "torn
the In arts of the fathers to the
children and the hearts of the children
to the fathers." We no lunger have
to ask, as in former times, u Who am
I?" " Where did I come from?"
" What am 1 doing here ?,# or u What
is the object of my existence ?" for
we have a certainty in relation to
these things, It is made plain to us
by the fruits of the Gospel — by the
truths which God has revealed
through the medium of revelation by
the inspiration of the Almighty, that
we are '* saviors on Mount Zton and
that the kingdom is the Lord's/* We
know that this is not merely a
nominal matter, but that it is what,
the French sometimes call an Aetna tie
— a thing that positively exists. We
know that God our Father lives, we
know that Jesus Christ our Savior 1
lives, and that he is our Great High
Pnest; and that, w though dead, he
ever lives to make intercession for
us." We know that God has revealed
unto us the everlasting Gospel in all
its fullness, richness, glory and power.
We know something about the world
we live in, and the relation that we
sustain to it, and it to us. We know
something about our progenitors, and
God has taught us how to be saviors
for i hem by being baptized for them
in the flesh, that they may live
according to God in the spirit. We
know that when our wives are sealed
to us lor eternity we shall have a
claim upon them* This is no phan-
tom, but a reality ; it is not only a
principle of our faith, but it is a j
principle of knowledge, and we expect
to renew our associations in the
eternal worlds, just as much as we
j expect, when we lay ourselves down
to rest at night, to ri^e in the morning
refreshed and invigorated. Wo know
that while we are mortal beings, and
subject to decay, we are also immortal
bjiugs and shall live for ever. We
know that the priesthood with which
we are associated in tins world is also
an everlasting priesthood and will
administer in this world and the
world to come — in time and in
eternity. As rational beings we are
seeking to act, in all our operations
in life, with reference not only to
time but to eternity ; and we know,
as others have known, that after the
" earthly house of this tabernacle is
dissolved we have a building of God,
a house not made with hands, eternal
in the heavens ; which the Lord, the
righteous Judge, will give to us, and
not to us only, but to all who love
the appearing of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ," It is the knowledge
' ol these things and of many more of
a similar nature that leads us to
pursue the course that we do, It is
this which prevents us from bowing
to the notions, caprices, ideas and
follies of men. Having been en-
lightened by the spirit of eternal
truth, having partaken of the Holy
Ghost, and our hope having entered
within the vail, whither Christ, our
forerunner, has gone, and knowing
that we are the children of God and
that we are acting in all tilings with
reference to eternity, we pursue the
even tenour of our way independent
of the smiles and careless of the
frowns of men. There is nothing
associated with our religion that we
can barter away, no principle that
we have to dispose of — there is
nothing in this world that can pur-
chase it ; its price is above rubies, it
is more valuable than fine gold. It
contains principles that lay hold of
188
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
eternal life ; and being in this position,
we, as rational, intelligent beings,
fear God and know no other fear.
There is nothing in this world that
can be brought into competition with
the principles of eternal truth, end
he who barters away the least particle
of that truth is a fool, though he ojay
not comprehend it
We stand, then, really in an im-
portant position before God and
before the world* God has called us
from the world. He has told us that
we are not of the world. We have
all been baptized into one baptism,
and have all partaken of the same
Spirit, even the Spirit communicated
through the ordinances of the Gospel
We have been called from the world
for the express purpose of being the
representatives of heaven, that the
Lord might have a people to whom
be could communicate his will, pur-
poses and designs, and through whom
he mi^ht spread forth the principles
that dwell in his bosom ; that we
might partake of the same Spirit that
dwells in Christ and among the
angelic throng; that it might per-
meate our bodies and be exhibited in
our acts and lives before our 1 ami lies
and the world, that the spirit and
mind that dwell in Christ should
grow, spread and expand until all
that come under its influence might
be leavened with the same leaven
until they become one lump of right-
eousness, virtue, truth and intelligence.
In entering this sacred relationship
with God we have assumed the duty
of carrying out in our midst the order
of things that exists in heaven, that
when we shall be transplanted from
the earth to the heavens we may be
prepared for the associations that we
shall meet in the celestial kingdom
of oui God. We have entered into
eternal covenants with God that we
will be his people and that he shall
be our God, and that, for us and ours,
we will serve the Lord; that as a
people, as a Territory, as a Church,
we will yield obedience to the hiwsof
God, how to his sceptre, acknow ledge
his authority, and do the things which
he requires at our hands, so that, as
God exists eter nal in the heavens, the
same principles of eternal life may
dwell in ns, that we may become
gods, even the sons and daughters of
God.
These are some of the ideas that
we have in reference to God and our
relationship to him* God is our
Father, we his children, and we all
ought to be brethren ; we ought to
feel and act like brethren, and while
we are striving to serve the Lord our
God with all our hearts, minds, souls
and strength, we ought, at the same
time, to seek to love our neighbor as
ourselves ; we ought to feel interested
in bis welfare, happiness and pros-
perity,and in anythingand everything
that will tend to promote his temporal
and eternal good. Our tee lings
towards the world of mankind,
generally, ought to be the same as
Jesus manifested to them* He-Sought
to promote their welfare, and our
motto ought ever to be the same
bis was — u Peace on earth and g
will to men no matter who they
are or what they are, we should seek
to promote the happiness and welfare
of all Adam's race.
Perhaps there has never been a
greater exemplification of this feeling,
however little it may hiive been
understood, than by the works of our
Elders They buvenot been governed
by sordid feelings in any of their
operat ions or ministrations* Bel k ving
in God, they huve put their irust
in him* They have trusted him for
their food and fur their raiment in
travelling to the ends of the earth
without purse of scrip, to proclaim
to a fallen world the great principles
that have been revealed Irom heaven
lint
-
THE HOLY SPIRIT, ETC*
189
fir the salvation of the human family.
There is not, to-day, on tins wide
world, an example of disinterestedness
and SL'if-;tV)i relation tnjri:d to that
which has been exhibited by the
Elders of this Church for the last
thirty -five years, and not only by the
Elders, bat by their wives, I see
* men around me in every direction
who have travelled thousand!* and
thousands of railes without purse or
scrip* tu preach the Gospel to the
nations of the earth. They have
trawrsed plains, mountains, deserts,
seas, oceans and rivers; they have
gone forth trusting in the living God,
bearing the precious seed of eternal
life. It is true they have not been
comprehended or understood by the
nations, but that does not alter the
fact Many who went forth in their
weakness have returned rejoicing,
bringing their sheaves with them, as
trophies of the victory of the prin-
ciples of eternal life that they them-
selves had communicated. I say
there is not another instance on record
to-day of like disinterested, affec-
tionate regard for the welfare of the
human family as has been manifested
by the EI lers of this Church. I
have tr veiled thousands and hun-
dreds of thousands of miles to preach
the Gospel among the nations of the
earth, and my brethren around me
have done the same thing. Did we
ever lack anything necessary to eat,
drink and wear? I never did. God
, went with his Elders, and they have
gathered together his people as they
are here to-day. They have been
seeking to carry out the desire of the
Lord and the wish of the Almighty
in regard to the human family* They
were told to go trusting in the name
%of the Lord, and he would take care
of them and go before them, and that
his Spirit should go with them and
his angels accompany thera. This is
all true; and these Elders have
preached to you, in your various
homes and tongues, those principles
which God revealed from heaven, and
you were influenced by diva ns and
visions and by the Spirit of the Lord
to give heed to their words, for, like
the words of the Apostie of old, they
came to you, *' not in word only, but
in power, in rich assurance and in
demonstration of the Spirit of the
Lord,1* and you realized it and rejoiced
in it, and you were led to cryf
u Hallelujah ! for the Lord God
omnipotent reigns. Thanks be to
the God of Israel who has counted
us worthy to receive tne principles of
truth." These were the feelings you
had and enjoyed in jour tar distant
homes. And your obedience to those
principles tore you from yoiir homes,
firesides and associations and brought
you here, for you felt like one of old,
when she said, "Whither thou goest
I will go; thy God shall be my God,
thy people shall be my people, and
where thou diest there will I be
buried/* And you have gathered to
Zton that you might be taught and
instructed in the laws of life and
listen to the words which emanate
from God, become one people and
one nation, partake of one spirit, and
prepare yourselves, your progenitors
and posterity for an everlasting in-
heritance in the celestial kingdom of
God.
It is no dream or phantom that has
brought us here; we have had to do
with realities all the way through.
And then you who have been brought
in have partaken of the spirit of Zion
and have helped to teach others the
way of life and to lead them in the
paths of righteousness; and now we
are not only trying to teach the
world, but our children, our youth,
our young men and women in the
same principles, that when we have
this stage of action they, inspired by
the Spirit of revelation which flows
190 JOURNAL OF
from God, may bear off bis kingdom
triumphant
This is the feeling that permeates
this people. With all our weaknesses,
and we are weak j with all oor follies,
and we are very foolish j with all our
infirmities, and we are very infirm,
we are trying to do the will of God,
and to prepare ourselves for an in-
heritance in his kingdom, to save our
progenitors and to pour blessings on
our posterity. These are the feelings
by which we are actuated ; and it is
not only in one, bat it is in all, more
or less, according to the proportion of
the Holy Spirit they enjoy* Witness
now the First Presidency of this
Church, Who could lab »r more
arduously than they ? Where is
there a man in existence to-day, of
the years of President Young, that
takes upon himself the amount of
care, anxiety, and travel that he does ?
There are very few of our young men
who would have liked to undertake
such a trip as he is now engaged in,
Kight in the worst possible season of
the year, with bad roads and bad
weather and all kinds of unfavorable
circumstances, to travel a journey of
five or six hundred miles and back !
What for ? To look after the welfare
of Zion, to promote the interests of
Israel, to help to build up and establish
the Church and kingdom of God on
the earth, to fulfill the behests of his
Lord and Master, and try to carry
out the things which God requires at
his hands. He feels the importance
of those things that Jesus spoke to
Peter about after Peter had denied
his Lord. Said Jesus —
" Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thon
me more than these? He saitb unto
him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I
love thee. He said unto him, Feed
my lambs* He saith unto him again,
the second time, Simon, son of Jonas,
lovest thon me ? He saith nolo him,
Tea, Lord, thon knowest that I love
DISCOURSES.
thee. He saith unto him, Feed my
sheep. He said unto him the third
time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest
thou me ? Pt ter was grieved because
he said unto him the third time,
lovest thon me, and he said unto him,
Lord, thou knowest all things; thon
knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith
unto him, Feed my sheep."
Well, we have a shepherd who,
together with his associates, is feeding
the sheep of God, and they, unitedly,
are watching after their interests,
wellbeing and happiness, and trying
to carry out the will of our Heavenly
Father; and while God is operating
in the heavens, the Holy Priesthood
is operating here to build up and
establish his kingdom and introduce
righteousness upon the earth.
As I said before, the Elders are
engaged in the same thing, and have
been all the time. How many have
been to the United States this last
season visiting among their friends,
associations and acquaintances, and
preaching the Gospel wherever they
had an opening? How are they
looked upon ? Hear their statements
when they return* They are looked
upon, by the people generally, as
impostors or deceivers. The people
do not seem, any more than the Jews
in former times, to understand the
day of their visitation, nor to compre*
hend the laws of life nor the relation
that tbey sustain to God ; and if ten
thousand Elders were sent throughout
the United States and Europe, the
people would treat them and the
principles they bear with contempt
and utter carelessness; they do not
understand the rich gems of eternal
truth when they are laid before them,
and tbey call our good evil, and their
evil good. Tbey do not know the
difference, neither do they understand
the day of their visitation. Tbey
possess not the Spirit of God ; they
are wallowing in the mire of sin and
THE HOLY SPIRIT, ETC
191
groping in the darkness of unbelief
and death.
Is this speaking harshly. Some
perhaps will say it is. I cannot help
that, it is true. Are there men among
them who seek to do good ? Many.
Are there philanthropists among
them? Yes, scores and hundreds of
them. Are there high-minded, honor-
able, intelligent men in their midst?
Yes, thousands of them. Bat do they
know the truth ? No, they do not,
and there are very few of them that
have the hardihood to stand up for
what they consider to be right, for
they fear that by so doing they would
be compromised in some worldly point
of view ; it would not be popular, so
they say, '* Better let it alone-" Do
we understand their position ? Yes.
Do we hate them ? No, we wish to
do them good, and would teach them
every good principle that we possess;
we would lead them in the path of
life and show them the way to God ;
we would introduce them into the
kingdom of God, but they cannot see
it, and unless a man is born again, the
Scriptures tell us that he cannot see
the kingdom of God* Sometimes I
hear people talk and see them write
about the kingdom of God ; but all
they talk and all they write proves
to me that they are not born again,
and consequently they cannot see the
kingdom of God any more than a
blind man could see the faces before
me if he were standing where I am.
Jesus told Nicodemus that '* except a
man be born of water he cannot see
the kingdom of God ; and except he
be born of the water and of the Spirit
he cannot enter the kingdom of God,"
People unenlightened by the spirit of
truth can see the kingdoms of the
world, and they can reason upon their
organization, their power and weak-
ness, and upon the justice or injustice
of the policy they pursue ; but when
it comes to the kingdom of God there
is a current associated with that
which they are not acquainted wiLh,
and principles which they cannot
comprehend ; they see depths which
they cannot fathom, and they grope
in the dark and are entirely ignorant
concerning the purposes of Jehovah,
Well, we who comprehend these
things, look at them in another light;
we are acquainted with their philo-
sophy; we are acquainted with their
status and position. We know ours,
they know theirs, but they cannot
comprehend us, for we are told,
emphatically, in the Scriptures, that
the world by its wisdom knows not
God. And as it was in former times,
so it is to-day, and the world by its
understanding cannot find out God,
Man, by philosophy and the exercise
of his natural intelligence, may gain
an understanding, to some extent, of
the laws of Nature; but to compre-
hend God heavenly wisdom and
intelligence are necessary. Earthly
and heavenly philosophy aie two
di0erent things, and it is folly for
men to base their arguments upon
earthly philosophy in trying to un-
ravel the mysteries of the kingdom
of God.
Standing, then, in the position that
we do, it is for us to try to obtain a
closer connection and union with our
Heavenly Father and with the Holy
Priesthood, and to comprehend more
and more the laws of life and the
things pertaining to the work of God,
We are here to save ourselves, to
learn the laws of heaven, and to save
our progenitors, that they may par-
ticipate with us in the rich blessings
of the Gospel If we answer the ends
of our creation in these respects we
shall not live and die as the fool lives
and dies; but, while the world ia
overwhelmed with crime, wickedness
and malign influences, we may help
to introduce and establish principles
which God will approve, which all
192
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
the good and virtuous will love and
admire and which will be approbated
by the holy angels ; and may organize
ourselves so that we may be prepared
to associate with the intelligences
around the throne of God, Let as,
then, keep the co nmand men ts of
God, live oar religion, be humble and
faith fat ? cleave to the Lord our God,
cultivate his Holy Spirit, that it may
dwell and abound within us, that it
may be as a well of water springing
up to eternal life; and that its re*
freshing, invigorating streams may
spread around us wherever we go, that
we may be prepared for glory, salva-
tion and an eternal inheritance in the
celestial kingdom. May God help
us to attain to this, in the name of
Jesus. Amen,
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Ogden City, June 3, 1871.
(Reported by David W. Evans.)
THE TRAINING OF CHILDREN.
I am aware that Brother Franklin
D. Richards' request to the children
to come to meeting this afternoon
has produced a little excitement ; but
we are very happy to see the people
together. My remarks will be to
parents as well as to children, I will
commence by saying that if each and
every one of us who are parents will
reflect npon the responsibilities de-
volving upon us we shall come to the
conclusion that we should never
permit ourselves to do anything that
we are not willing to see our children
do. We should set them an example
that we wish them to i nutate. Do
we realize this? How often we see
parents demand obedience, good beha-
vior, kind words, pleasant looks, a
sweet voice and a bright eye from a
child or children when they them-
selves are full of bitterness and
scolding ! How inconsistent and
unreasonable this is ! If we wish our
children to look pleasant we should
look pleasant at them ; and if we
wish them to speak kind words to
each other, let us speak kind words
to them. We need not go into
detail, but we should carry out this
principle from year to year in oar
whole lives, and do as we wish our
children to do. I say this with
regard to our morals and our faith in
our religion.
Now let me call the attention of
parents to another subject worthy of
their notice — that is, the use of proper
language. Take us as a people and
we are not overstocked with language ;
there are very few highly educated
men in the Church to which we
belong. We have a few learned men
and a few good scholars among the
women, but they are scarce. Now,
parents, and I wish you to remember
this, should never permit themselves
to apeak improperly before a child, or
THE TRAINING
to use language that would not be j
commendable in an orator. If you I
have not such language at your com-
mand, then use the beat you have.
It is true that to use that which we
are in po session of to advantage is a
peculiar gift. We see some who can
use language, apparently, to their
entire satisfaction, and yet they have
no great store of language at their
command ; but still they have the
happy faculty of conveying their
ideas with greater propriety than
others who are literary in their tastes
and have been highly educated. There
is consi3erabIe in making choice of
words. For instance, if we were to
address a man who had been dis-
obedient and needed chastisement we
would nse very different language from
that which would be used if addressing
a child or a lady. If you wish to
impress on the minds of individuals
or an audience anything that you
desire them to remember, you will
have to use language accordingly. I
have heard it observed that language
should be used according to the
merits or demerits of the case under
consideration; this will do under
some circumstances. I wish to im-
press upon myself, as well as upon
my brethren and sisters, the propriety
of never using language to a child
that we should dislike to hear them
use in refined society. If we have a 1
choice set of words at our command
we should always use them when
speaking to our children, even from
the time they commence to talk* If
we do this, the effect will be very
pleasing in after years, for whert our
children enter into polite and refined
society, instead of being mortified
and having to call them to one side
to correct their unrefined language,
the elegance and propriety of their
mode of expression will be a source
of gratification and pleasure. If a
child has to be corrected for the use I
No. 13.
OF CHILDREN. 193
of improper or inelegant language, it
might reply, " Mother, or father, I
am using words that you taught me,"
Carry out this principle, not only
in language, but in all the affairs of
life ; and let us always set an example
before our children that is worthy of
their imitation and highest admira-
tion. If we do this, we shall have
occasion to rejoice and be exceeding
glad, for we shall have influence over
them and they will not forsake us.
There is a passage in this good
book (the Bible) said to have been
written by a very wise man, which
says —
u Train up a child in the way he
.should go, and when he is old he will
not depart from it."
To make a community thoroughly
understand these words a great deal
of explanation would be necessary.
To illustrate, I ask myself, am I
capable of bringing up a child in the
way that he should go ? The answer
is right here — I am not. Why not ?
Because I have not that light and
intelligence in my possession and that
command over myself to give to a
child a suitable impression under
every circumstance and in every
place, when I address him or require
anything of him, 1 would not speak
discoursgingly of myself or of my
brethren and sisters. We know a
great deal, but when we compare our
knowledge with the fountain of
knowledge it is very small ; when
our light is compared with the foun-
tain of light it is very small, and
consequently I can say that I am not
prepared to bring up a child in the
way he should go ; and yet I probably
come as near to it aa any person that
lives. How is it with my brethren
and sisters? They are capable of
bringing up their children a great
deal better than they do, that is
certain. If we do as well as we
know how — use all the faith and
Vol, ;xiv.
194 JOURNAL OF
intelligence in oar possession, and
seek to gain more, we will be able to
bring up our children in such a waj
that very few of them will ever
depart from the right path. I want
you to remember this. If we will do
just as well as we know how, never
missing an opportunity of giving a
word, a look or a principle that will
do good to the rising generation,
never permitting ourselves to be
overtaken in fault, but preserving
ourselves in the integrity and patience
of our souls, there are very few of the
rising generation with us that will
depart from the words of life. As for
those who are old amongst us, their
traditions aud prepossessed notions,
imbibed in childhood, cling to them
like a garment, or like something
glued to them; and they govern
them to a great extent, and it is
almost an impossibility for old people
to get rid of their traditions; but it
will be very different with our children
if we train them according to the
will of God that has been revealed
to us as a people. We have the Old
and New Testaments; the Book of
Mormon, giving an account of the
aborigines of our country, the visit of
the Savior to and the organization of
his Church on this continent, the
»me as to his brethren on the land
of Palestine. Then we have the
Book of Duutrine and Covenants; in
addition to these three books, we have
the history, discourses and sayings of
the Prophet Joseph, and the history,
aayings and discourses of the Elders
of Israel, and also the experience we
have gained in this Church, Com*
bine these, and I think we cannot
come to the conclusion that we are
ignorant and do not know anything;
although I say that, in comparison
with the fountain of all knowledge,
our knowledge is small and trifling*
But if we will do as well as we know
bow, we will be able to teach our
DISCOURSES.
children sufficient doctrine, truth and
principle, that they will actually
grow up into Christ, our living head.
Now let as say a few words with
regard to human nature and its
proneness to wander into evil. You
go, for instance, to the river and
commence to throw sticks and shav-
ings into the water, and thiy will go
down stream ; and a great effort or a
very powerful wind will be required
to make a small boat, vessel, bark,
or even a board that the children
play with, go up stream. The same
is true of small streams. Cast any-
thing into them, and it goes down
stream. We are taught in these
books that, through the Fall, we have
partaken so much of the nat ure of
the enemy — he has so much influence
in the flesh of every person, that we
have to enter into a warfare, and we
have to summon all our force and to
use every effort to propel our bark
up stream, or to put down iniquity in
our own hearts and inclinations. I
will pause right here, and refer to
what brother George Q. Cannon was
saying this morning to the children.
Said he, " My boys, do not chew
tobacco because you see others do it ;
do not smoke a cigar because you see
others do it ; my little girls, do not
drink tea because you see mamma do
-it" Now let me give you a com-
parison. Ask these little boys, if
they saw two parties, one on the
right hand praying to the Father in
the name of Jesus, and the other on
the left with a cigar in his mouth,
puffing away as vigorously as possible,
which they would be most inclined
to imitate, and you will find they will
instantly choose that which is evil.
They are not inclined to pray ; there
seems to be a kind of a dread or
terror about it, and they say, u We
do not know how to ask the Father
for blessings, and we do not think we
could pray, but give us a cigar and
THE TRAINING OF CHILDREN.
195
we can puff as well as anybody."
This is only a comparison, but it
furnishes a correct illustration of the
facilifv with which evil habits are
acquired, and how quick children as
well as parents are to go astray, how
quick their feet are to run into by
and forbidden paths. But if parents
will continually set before their chil-
dren examples worthy of their imita-
tion and the approval of oar Father
in heaven, they will turn the current,
and the tide of feelings of their
children, and they, eventually, will
desire righteousness more than evil.
This disposition will not be acquired
in one day, week or year; but let
parents spend their lives in teaching
good, in good words and good looks
and in the continual exercise of their
faith in God, and their children will
fin: illy feel that they would rather be
Christians than sinners.
Have we any proof of this ? Yes.
We have brethren here who have
traveled a good deal, and who have
been in the Church a good many
years. If they could only think of
them they could count over people
by the hundred and the thousand who
have left this Church ; but you now
see many of their children coming to
Zion ; and get into conversation with
them and you will hear them say, " I
have come to see what you, Latter-
day Saints, are doing, ily father
was formerly a member of your
Church ; hut he left and died in
Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hamp-
shire, Rhode Island, Maine, England,
Scotland, Ireland, Wales, or some-
where else. My parents taught me
to believe the Gospel, and, although
they were cut off irons the Church, it
has never left me. When I rend the
Bible I find that they taught mo the
truth. If I go to meeting among the
sectarians, I gain neither light nor
knowledge; but what my parents
taught me has bad an influence upon
me through my life from my child*
hood up, and now I have come to see
what you, Latter-day Saints, are
doing." And the children and grand-
children of those who apostatized
years and years ago, will come up to
Zion by hundreds and thousands,
impelled by what their parents taught
them in childhood.
This is another comparison. We
are not quite all going to apostatize ;
a great many have died in the faith,
and a great many have apostatized,
but their posterity will come to Zion
and believe the truth. Oar children
will have the love of the truth, if we
but live our religion. Parents shuuld
take that course that their children
can say, " I never knew my father to
deceive or take advantage of a neigh-
bor; I never knew my father take to
himself that which did not belong to
him, never, never! No, but he said,
* Son, or daughter, be honest, true,
virtuous, kind, industrious, prudent,
and full of good works/" Such
teachings from paren s to their chil-
dren will abide with them for ever,
unless they sin against the Holy
Ghost, and some few, perhaps, will
do this.
If you should have visits here from
those professing to be Christiana,
and they intimate a desire to preach
to you, by all means invite them to
do so. Accord to every reputable
person who may visit you, and who
may wish to occupy the stands of
your meeting houses to preach to you,
the privilege of doing so, no matter
whether he be a Catholic, Presby-
terian, Congregationaliat, Baptist,
Free-will Baptist, Methodist, or what-
ever he may be; and if he wishes to
speak to your children let him do so.
Of course you have the power to
correct whatever false teachings or
impressions, if any, your children
may hear or receive. I say to parents,
place your children, as far as yon
196
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
have an opportunity to do so, in a
position or situation to learn every*
thing in the world that is worth
learning. You will probably have
what is called a Christian Church
here; they will not admit that we
are Christians, but they cannot think
ns further from the plan of salvation
as revealed from heaven than we
know them to be, so we are even on
that ground, as far as it goes. But,
as I was saying, you may have pro-
fessing Christians come here to take
up their residences in your midst;
and I want to say to parents and
children, that, so far aa the Christian
nations are concerned, I will take
America, for instance, and on the
score of morals — honesty, integrity,
truthfulness and virtue, you will find
people by hundreds of thousands just
as good as any Latter-day Saints, as
far as they know. They are the ones
we are after. The Lord told us to
go and preach the Gospel without
purse and scrip. What for ? To
hunt up the honest ones who are now
mixed up with all the nations of the
earth and gather them together; and
we have done so, as far as we have
had the opportunity and privilege,
And after we are gathered we are
none too honest, any more than the
inhabitants of the world generally
are, and they hardly know the mean-
ing of the term. Still, according to
the light they possess, I mean the
Christian world, thousands and mil-
lions of them are honest, virtuous and
true, and I fellowship them as far as
they do right. Is this strange ? No,
it is not 1 wish that all the Latter-
day Saints were as good, according
to the knowledge they possess, as
thousands and millions of the sec-
tarian world are; and I will not skip
even the heathen world, for many of
them are as good and honest, accord
ing to the light they possess, as men
and women know how to be.
Now, then, if our brethren of the
Presbyterians, Methodists or any
others visit here and want to preach
to you, certainly let them preach, and
have your children hear them. They
will tell you to keep the Sabbath and
to love your father and mother; they
will tell you to be true, honest, in-
dustrious, to be faithful to your
studies, to read the Bible and all good
books, to study the sciences, &c», which
is all good, and as far as such teaching
goes just as good as it can be. If
they want to come and teach your
children in the Sunday school, I say
let them do so, most certainly. We
have set ires of thousands of their
books distributed among the Sunday
schools throughout our Territory.
Some Latter-day Saints think they
are not exactly what they ought to
be; but we are using them in our
schools Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays,
Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and
Saturdays, from one year's end to
another.
I say, parents, do not be afraid of
having your children learn everything
that is worth learning. I can pick
hundreds and thousands of children,
in this Church whom I could te^ch
with greater ease, and so could a man
from college, than their parents could
be taught. I can get at their senses
better; they are quick and appre*
hensive and can learn sooner. And
if any of our Christian brethren want
to go into our Sabbath schools to
teach our children, let them do so.
They will not teach them anything
immoral in the presence of those who
are in charge of the schools ; they
wait until they get behind the door
in the dark before they commit
immoral acts, and very few of them
will, even then. But in their Sunday
schools they teach as good morals as
you and I can teach.
I want to say that we are for the
truth, the whole truth and nothing
THE TRAINING OF CHILDREN
13T
but the truth ; we are pursuing the
path of truth, and by and by we
expect to possess a great deal more
than we do now ; but to say that we
shall ever possess all truth, I pause,
I do not know when* We receive
light and truth from the fountain of
light and truth, but I am not at
liberty to say and do not know that
we shall ever see the time when we
shall possess all truth. Bat we will
receive truth from any source, wherever
we can oblain it
Next week the great camp meeting
that has been so long contemplated
is to commence in the city of Salt
Lake, where, I have heard it whis-
pered, there are so many of the
41 Mormons" to be converted. I am
going to permit every one of my
children to go and bear what they
have to say. When we come to the
sciences of the day the knowledge of
the sectarian world is very extensive;
the same is true of their morality ;
but when we come to read out of the
Book of Life the words of the
Almighty to the people, and compare
them with the knowledge of the
sectarian world, I am reminded of
the words of Geo. Francis Train con-
cerning a certain gentleman. Said
he, ** I want you to sit down and tell
me all you know in five minutes."
They can tell all they know about
God, godliness, heaven, earth, and
the exaltation of man to the Godhead
in five minutes, for they do not know
anything. Our children can see this,
and I want them to see it. If there
is any man among them that does
know anything about the plan of the
Almighty for -the redemption and
exaltation of man, I hope and pray
that I m«v have the privilege of
seeing him. X recollect when I was
young going to hear Lorenzo Dow
preach. He was esteemed a very
great man by the religious folks. I,
although young in years and lacking
experience, had thought a great many
times that I would like to hear some
man who could tell me something,
when he opened the Bible, about the
Son of God, the will of God, what
the ancients did and received, saw
and heard and knew pertaining to
God and heaven. So 1 went to hear
Lorenzo Dow. He stood up some
of the time, and he sat down some of
the time; he was in this position and
in that position, and talked two or
three hours, and when he got through
I asked myself, " What have yon
learned from Lorenzo Dow r" and my
answer was, " Nothing, nothing but
morals." He could tell the people
they should not work on the Sabbath
day ; they should not lie, swear, steal,
commit adultery, &c, but when lie
came to teaching the things of God
he was as dark as midnight. And
so I lived until, finally, I made a
profession of religion. I thought to
myself I would try to break off my
sins and lead a better life and be as
moral as I possibly could ; for I wag
pretty sure that I should not stay
here always. Where I was going to
I did not know, but I would like to
be as good as I know how while here,
rather than run the risk of being full
of evil. I had heard a good deal
about religion, and what a good nice
place heaven was, and how good the
Lord was, and I thought I would try
to live a pretty good life. But when
I reached the years of, I will say,
courage, I think that is the best terra,
I would ask questions. I would sayf
" Elder, or Minister, I read so and so
in the Bible, how do you understand
it?" Then I would go and hear
them preach on the divinity of the
Son, and the character of the Father
and the Holy Ghost and their divinity,
and, I will say,, the divinity of the
soul of man ; what we are here forf
and various kindred topics. But
after asking questions and going to
193 JOURNAL OF
hear them preach year after year,
What did I learn? Nothing. I
would as lief go into a swamp at
midnight to learn how to paint a
picture and then define its colors
when there is neither moon nor stars
visible and profound darkness prevails,
as to go to the religious world to
learn about God, heaven, hell or the
faith of a Christian. But they can
explain our duty as rational, moral
beings, and that is good, excellent as
far as it goes.
This has been my experience in the
Christian world, and I want our
children to go and hear all there is to
hear, for the whole sum of it will be
wound up as I once heard one of the
finest speakers America has ever pro-
duced say, when speaking on the soul
of man. After laboring long on the
subject, he straightened himself up —
lie was a fine looking man — and said
he, " My brethren and sisters, I must
come to the conclusion that the suul
of man is an immaterial substance,"
Said I, 11 Bah !" There was no more
sense in his discourse than in the
bleating of a sheep or the grunting
of a pig. I palliated the facts par-
tially, however, so far as he was
concerned, by attributing ray lack of
comprehension to my own ignorance.
This reminds me that I once heard
Mr. Lansing preach a most elaborate
discourse. It was in the morning,
and when the meeting was dismissed
and the people had come out, Deacon
Brown says to Deacon Taylor, u What
a sermon we have had !** Deacon
Taylor says, " Yes, yes !" Deacon
Brown says, 44 That is one of the
most profound discourses I ever heard
Hr. Lansing deliver;" and so they
continued talking until one of them
said at last, " I did not understand a
word of it," The other Deacon
replied, "Neither did L" Their
Verdict was a just one, for the dis-
course consisted of fine, beautiful
DISCOURSES,
words and nothing eUe. I saw and
heard nothing to give me the least
clue to anything pertaining to (iod,
heaven, or the designs of the Creator
with regard to the earth and its
inhabitants. But as I did not under-
stand a word of it, I supposed that
was on account of my ignorance, until
I heard the Deacons say that they
did not, and then I concluded that I
knew as much as they did. For this
reuson I say, go and learn all they
know. Their catechisms are good ^
but if you come to the things of God
I will be bound that we have children
who, if they dare open their mouths
and converse, would place them in
water they could not fathom. Yet I
say, go and see and hear them and
learn what they know, then you can
discriminate and discern, and will be
able to understand why the Lord
called upon Joseph Smith to come
out and declaie his will, and why he
bestowed upon Joseph the Priesthood
and its keys and powers. You will
then learn, my little boys and girls,
that the world of mankind scarcely
know anything about the Bible, Ask
them concerning the character of the
Savior and they will expatiate and
expound hour after hour, but they
will tell absolutely nothing. I pre-
sume that there are sisters here who
have asked ministers w hat a certain
Scripture meant, and in reply they
have talked, talked, talked, and wound
up by saying, ** Great is the mystery
of godliness, God manifest in the
flesh. Sister, I cannot tell you/'
Have you ever heard sisters and
children ask questions of this kind ?
Yes, and so have I many times, but
they have failed to obtain one particle
of knowledge from I heir religious
teachers. Why ? Because they did
not possess it. They did not know
that Jesus was the express image of
his Father, although they had read
it in the Bible ; they did not know
I
THE TRAINING OF CHILDREN.
that man was made in the image of
his God, although they hare read it
hundreds of times in the book thej
profess to reverence and believe in so
much. They cannot realize it, When
and how will they realize it ? When
they submit themselves to the Lord,
and ask the Father in the name of
Jesus to give them revelation by the
Holy Ghost. No man can call Jesus
the Christ except it be revealed from
heaven to him.
I will say to my young friends, my
little brothers and sisters, go and
learn everything you can, I say to
parents, do not be afraid one particle!
These children will learn something
that we as parents know and under-
stand already, and it is very grievous
for us to realize that it is the truth.
Joseph, our Prophet, was hunted and
driven, arrested and persecuted, and
although no law was ever made in
these United States that would bear
against him, for he never broke a law,
yet to my certain knowledge he was
defendant in forty-six lawsuits, and
every time Mr. Priest was at the head
of and led the band or mob who
hunted and persecuted him* And
when Joseph and Hyrum were slain
in Carthage jail the mob, painted like
Indians, was led by a preacher. And
now they follow us up and want os to
learn of them, when, sn far as the
characters of God and Jesus are con-
cerned and the errand of Jesus into
the world, our youth know better than
the whole sectarian world. In coming
to Utah to teach the '* Mormons M the
way of life, the Christians are but
carrying coals to Newcastle. What
is the use of going to "Mormon"
settlements to teach the people tem-
perance and sobriety, or to teach
them the Bible ? No more use than
in going to Newcastle to sell coal.
There is no other people in the world
that believe in and practice the Bible
as strictly as the Latter-day Saints.
199
None but the Latter-day Saints
properly believe in the Lord Jesua
Christ : no other people acknowledge
him and keep hfs commandment;;
and yet they follow ns up, their
object, professedly, being to convert
! us to Christianity, but in reality it if
1 to induce us to apostatize until they
get the upper hand, that the Priest-
hood may again be destroyed from
the earth. But never mind, let them
go ahead, we shall see whether Christ
or Baal will be king of the earth, and
whether Baal will reign several
thousand years longer. We shall
find it out by and by.
I am saying this to parents, to
those who have been in the midst of
Christendom and have seen its work-
ings; to women who hare sat up
night, after night, for hundreds of
nights, to watch their houses and
keep the mob, led by priests, from
slaughtering their husbands and
families and destroying their property.
Perhaps I ought to keep silent rather
than say these things, but that would
not be justice. Facts are facts and
we cannot help it I hope they will
prove a little different in time to
come. But with the exception of the
infidel portion of it, the sectarian
world has hewn out to itself broken
cisterns that will hold no water; the
priests have got their creeds, systems,
and organizations, they live on the
people, and they are afraid that, if
truth be proclaimed, their craft will
fall. Go to the infidel portion of the
world and we are all right; for if
they refuse to receive our doctrine*
they will talk and reason like men of
intelligence. But with many of those
professing to be Christian teachers it
is very different, and in my secret
estimate of the characters and attain-
ments of many of them I have come
to the conclusion that their forte m
ignorance and impudence,
I will take another turn in my
•
200 JOURNAL OF
remarks, and will say if we were
known by the world as we are, truly
and honestly, I will not except the
Christians nor their priests ; if we
were known by them as we know
them, there is not a priest but would
pray for the Latter-day Saints. The
infidel world would also pray for us,
and so would the political and moral
world. But they do not know what
the Lord is doing through us ; they
are ignorant, and in their ignorance
they lift themselves up against God
and his Anointed, for they hftve no
eyes to see, ears to hear, nor hearts
to understand. But some are becom-
ing acquainted with us, and this has
its influence. What is the object of
the Lord Almighty in calling this
people as he has done ? This question
may be answered in a very few words
— it is nothing short of restoring to
the midst of the children of men
every truth, every good, all knowledge
and everything lovely and beautiful
for time and eternity, saving all that
will or can be saved and exalting his
children to thrones, and to crown
them with crowns of glory, immor-
tality and eternal lives. Do you see
what is going to be the result of the
course the Lord is pursuing with this
people aud with the world ? You
see some who formerly obeyed the
Gospel leaving us occasionally. Where
are they going ? Is there anything
else that will satisfy them ? Not on
this earth ; they either remain faith-
ful to the Gospel or go to infidelity.
This is the fact When men go from
this Church they become infidels.
They can say they believe in this,
DISCOURSES.
that or the other ; they may turn to
Spiritualism, bogusism, Emmaism or
anything else ; no matter what, but
they must be infidels or else acknow-
ledge the Lord Jesus Christ, ^
The doctrine that we preach is the
doctrine of the Bible, it is the doctrine
the Lord has revealed for the salva-
tion of the children ot God, and when
men, who have once obeyed it, deny
it, they deny it with their eyes wide
open, and knowing that they deny
the truth and set at naught the
counsels of the Almighty.
I have spoken quite awhile to you,
my brethren and sisters. I have
been teaching parents some things
with regard to their children j now
I wish to say to the children, obey
your parents, be good, never suffer
yourselves to do that which will
mortify you through life, and that
will cause you to look back with
regret. While you are pure and
spotless preserve yourselves in the
integrity of your souls. Although
I yon are young you know good from
evil, and live so that you can look
back on your lives and thank the
Lord that he has preserved you, or
has enabled you to preserve your-
selves, so that you have no misconduct
to regret or mourn oven Take this
course and you will secure to your-
selves an honorable name on earth
among the good and the pure; you
will maintain your integrity before
heaven, and prove yourselves worthy
of a high stale of glory when you
get through with this world.
God bless you. Amen.
THE GOSPEL, ETC, 201
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG,
Delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City* Sunday,
August 13, 1871*
(Reported hj David W. Evans.)
THE GOSPEL— THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD— REVELATION.
I feel like bearing my testimony
to the Gospel of the Son of God, and
I have it upon my mind to impress
on the Latter-day Saints one par-
ticular item of our faith, and that is
to take a course to possess the Spirit
of the Lord. According to your
experience and mine you cannot
understand the things of God but by
the Spirit of God, If we were to
examine the character of the Jews in
the days of the Savior we would learn
this one fact — that the people at that
time were about as destitute of the
Spirit of the Lord as any nation ever
need be. In our day it seems that
the Spirit will actually prompt people
to liberal thinking, to liberal actions
and to liberal government, and not to
be as suppressive as they were in the
days of the Jewish nation and other
nations that then bore rule ; although
in Christendom there have been times
when governments have been very
oppressive, and when the people were
obliged to think as they were told,
and when the doctrines they believed
in must be according to the precepts
and teachings of priests; but the
present a^e is more liberal. The
time has come when the Lord is
commencing to pour out his Spirit
upon the people. According to the
words of the Prophet the time is to
come when the Spirit of the Lord
shall be poured out upon all flesh.
He says, " Your sons and your
daughters shall prophecy, your old
men shall dream dreams, yonr young
men shall see visions, and also upon
the servants and upon the handmaids
in those days will I pour out my
Spirit." This appears to be the com-
mencement, and I am very thankful
for it. Still, according to the ex-
perience of those who examine them-
selves, and the operations of the
different spirits upon themselves, we
learn that the power of evil is very-
great, and we are more given to it
than to possess the Spirit of Christ,
Yet the Spirit of the Lord enlightens
every man that comes into the world.
There is no one that lives upon the
earth but what is, more or less,
enlightened by the Spirit of the Lord
Jesus. It is said of him, that he is
the light of the world. He lighteth
every man that comes into the world,
and every person, at times, has the
light of the Spirit of truth upon him.
When we look at the conduct of
the Jews and of the Romans in
Jerusalem, and other nations around,
among whom Jesus traveled, we find
that it was very little influenced by
those mighty miracles that we think,
talk and preach so much about. I
mean the Christian world. They cry
to their hearers, " Look at the Savior,
look at his acts, behold his doings !
What miracles he wrought! How
202
JOURNAL OF DISCOURS:
he suffered for us," and so od. What
did the Jews or Romans care about
all this ? Did they believe in him ?
It appears not, or bat very few of
them* And, as we have just been
hearing, it was the same among
the multitudes who followed him;
although he fed them, and they saw
his miracles, yet they understood
nothing of the power by which his
mighty works were accomplished.
It was just so with the young man
who was born Wind, whom the
Savior healed. " Who opened your
eyes," said the Scribes and Pharisees.
" Why, this man who is going about
preaching, who says lie is the Savior,
the Son of God — the king of the
Jews." The priests replied : " That
is nonsense ; you do not pretend to
say that this man opened your eyes t"
u Well, all I know about it is, that he
spat on the ground and made a little
mortar from the clay and anointed
my eyes, and before that I was blind,
but now I see." " Well, do not
believe on him, he is an impostor, he
is deceiving the people ;w and when
we examine and understand the facts
in relation to this personage whom
we call the Savior of the world, there
were not, strange to say, as many
persons believed on him as have
believed on Joseph Smith in the
latter days, Not that Joseph was
the Savior, but he was a prophet. As
he said once, when some one asked
him, " Are you the Savior ?w 41 No,
but I can tell you what I am — 1 am
his brother " So we can say. But
Joseph was a prophet; and so we
testify, declaring that we know it.
But how, in the world, do you know
it? Because somebody has made
clay and anointed your eyes? No.
The young man did not know the
real character of the personage by
whom his eyes were opened, nor he
never would know unless the Holy
Ghost — the Spirit of revelation, rested
upon him to such a degree as to
manifest to him that Jesus was the
Christ.
This is a matter that we should
well consider, Jesus fed the multi-
tudes miraculonsly ; he walked on
the water, healed the sick, gave sight
to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and
raised the dead to life, but what of
all this? Did it prove that he was
the Christ ? I recollect once, when
on my travels, hearing some divines
try to prove that everybody ought to
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
because of the miracles he wrought.
When they had argued some time I
took the liberty of saying, " Gentle*
men, who were they who testified of
these great miracles that you speak
of?1* It was an Elder in Israel who
was arguing with them, and trying to
prove to their minds that Joseph was
called of God to open up this' last
dispensation. They spurned every
argument and ignored every Scripture
that was brought forward ; but yet,
they said, we ought to believe on the
Lord Jesus because of his great
miracles. " Who were they,** said I,
M who testified of these miracles ? I
will return you your own words.
Yuu say that this gentleman is one
of Joseph Smith's disciples, and a
party concerned and has an interest
in establishing the fact that he was a
pi ophet and was called of God. If
he is a party concerned, were not
Peter, Paul and Jude parties con-
cerned ? and when you get the names
of all who have written in the New
Testament — eight in number — you
find they were all interested in
establishing the divinity of the Savior^
they were all parties concerned and
had an object in view in endeavoring
to establish the fact that he was the
Savior. This gentleman has told you
that there are twelve men who testify
that they saw the plates from which
the Book of Mormon was written ;
THE CQSPEL, ETC,
203
they saw and bandied these plates,
and they witness to the world that
the Book of Mormon is true. Here
are twelve living men, who can be
spoken to, against ei<?ht men who
have been dead for about seventeen
hundred years/* Well, but these
great miracles, these wonderful
miracles !
X do not wish to speak the least
derogatory to the character of him,
or whoever performed these miracles
in the name of the Lord ; but I
mention this to show how men's
minds are wrought upon and how
they look at things. In my conver-
sation I asked those* gentlemen if they
believed the Bible? Yes, and they
were very fervent in bringing forth
the great miracles of Moses, who was
called to lead the children of Israel.
" Well, what did Moses do?" "Why,
so and so." " And you say that Jesus
raised the dead ?" 14 Yes," " If you
will turn to the Old Testament, you
will tind that a certain woman, called
the witch of Endor, raised up Samuel
the Prophet, Did Jesus ever raise
up a prophet ?" They had to acknow-
ledge that he did not. What greater
wotk did Jesus do than a witch, that
our fathers in Massachusetts used to
hang up by the neck and burn, or
make them swim across the bay, and
if they went across, that was proof
they were witches or wizards; and if
they could not get quite across, but
sank, they might possibly be innocent,
but they were at the bottom of the
sea. What proof have you that Jesus
wrought any greater miracle than
the witch of Endor — a wicked woman,
who, to please wicked Saul, brought,
the Piophet Samuel from his grave ?'\
Well, now, examine the character
of the Savior, and examine the
characters of those who have written
the Old and New Testaments; and
then compare them with the character
of Joseph Smith, the founder of this
work — the man whom God called and
to whom he gave the keys of Priest-
hood, and through whom he has
established his Church and kingdom
for the last time, and you will find
that his character stands as fair as
that of any man's mentioned in the
Bible We can find no person who
presents a better character to the
world when the facts are known than
Joseph Smith, jun., the prophet, and
his brother, Hyrum Smith, who was
murdered with him.
I will come now to my text again,
and will ask the Latter-day Saints,
Do you know that Joseph Smith was
a prophet ? Yes. How do you know
it ? Why, father and mother says it
is so ; Elder such-a-one says it is so,
and I believe it. Theyr prove their
doctrine by the Bible, and I nm forced
to believe the Bible through the
traditions of the fathers; and these
Elders establish the truth of their
doctrines beyond all controversy from
Scripture, and I cannot deny it, hence
I believe Mormon ism, or the Gospel.
Now, the question is, how much
good will it do me to believe the
Gospel on the evidence of others,
without possessing the spirit of the
Gospel ? This is a question that I can
answer very readily. There is no
man or woman on the earth that will
live according to the laws of God, but
will possess the Spirit of God. This
answers the question. But suppose
we believe and we do not quite live
this law. We embrace the Gospel,
we gather up with the Saints, and yet
we live in the neglect of our duty and
beneath our privileges ; we do not
call upon the Father in the name of
Jesus with that sincerity and earnest-
ness necessaiy to bring down the
revelations of the Lord upon ns, and
we live in this manner for days and
years together ; by and by something
or otheT comes along that we do not
like, we cannot understand if, wo
204
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
have not the spirit to understand it,
and consequently we reject this and
reject that ; and if the Church is just
right and its leaders are just right,
why the individual is not right, and
he tarns away from the holy com-
mandments of the Lord Jesus, and
goes back to the beggarly elements
of the world, like the dog to his vomit,
or the sow to her wallowing in the
mire.
Now, let me ask the Latter-day
Saints, you who are here in this house
this day, how do you know that your
humble servant is really, honestly,
guiding and counseling you aright,
and directing the affairs of the king-
dom aright? Let you be ever so
true and faithful to your friends and
never forsake them, never turn traitor
to the Gospel which you have
espoused, but live on in neglect of
your duty, how do you know but I
am teaching false doctrine ? How
do you know that I am not counseling
you wrong ? How do you know but
I will lead you to destruction ? And
this is what I wish to urge upon you
— live so that you can discern between
the truth and error, between light
and darkness, between the things of
God and those not of God, for by the
revelations of the. Lord, and these
alone, can you and I understand the
things of God* When Jesus preached
to the people they were destitute of
the Spirit of truth, and if they believed
his teachings for the moment, as soon
as they went away the Spirit left
them and they were again in the
dark, and they did not become the
disciples of Jesus. So it is now.
For instance, a great many strangers
come here; they see our work, they
give us praise, they acknowledge
our faithfulness, industry, prudence,
economy and so forth. How do they
know that we are preaching the
Gospel ? " Oh,11 say they, 14 we do
not know anything about that; we
do not come here to be Mormons.**
But suppose they were perfectly
honest before God and sought onto
him until they got the Spirit of reve-
lation, they would be convinced that
we told them the truth, or else that
we did not preach that which we
profess to teach, one of the two. We
know all about it, but they do not.
Did the people in the d iys of the
Savior? No, they saw his miracles,
but they enjoyed no more of the Spirit
of truth than some of the strangers
who visit us. One thing is very
remarkable, and should be noticed by
strangers who come here, find that is,
the change that takes place in their
own feelings. Let me say this to
strangers, I mean those who have
any regard for truth and holiness;
when you are here in this house or
city, and you commune with the
Latter-day Saints, there is a spirit of
peace, a holy reverence for truth,
righteousness, goodness, mercy and
virtue rests upon you ; in fact, you
are influenced by that spirit and
influence which hoverover this people;
but what do many of you say when
you go away ? No longer ago than
yesterday a reporter said to me,
"While in California, judging by
what I heard, I supposed you had no
improvements here, you lived in dug-
outs, you had no schools, and that the
people did not look as the people do
anywhere else — quite another kind of
people — neither industry, judgment
nor dipcretion amongst them ; but
I am perfectly disappointed, my
whole mind is revolutionized, and I
see things so different to what I
expected to see them, that I am really
another person here," What will he
write about us ? If be does as others
have done, we may expect to see a
batch of misrepresentations from him
just as quick as he gets away and the
spirit of the enemy takes possession
of him. Such men cater to the world
THE GOSPEL, ETC,
205
and to the ungodly priests that the
world is afraid of. But I will confine
this wholly to the political world.
u Yea," says the senator, or the man
who wishes to be a senator, repre-
sentative, governor or any officer, " if
I do not cater to these priests I shall
lose my election/' But I would see
them further in heaven than they will
get in ten thousand years before I
would cater to them. Truth, honesty
and uprightness in everything, and if
that will not stand upon its own basis,
falsehood, deception, lying to aud
deceiving each other certainly will
not, either here or hereafter. It is
the honest and honorable, or, in other
words, it is truth and righteousness,
that will stand the day of God
Almighty. When the Lord Almighty
thunders from the heavens to try the
souls of the children of men they will
want truth and righteousness.
But to return to ray question to
the Saints, " How are you going to
know about the will and commands
of heaven ?" By the Spirit of reve-
lation ; that is the only way you can
know. How do I know but what I
am doing wrong ? How do I know
but what we will take a course for
our utter ruin ? I sometimes say to
my brethren, " I have been your
dictator for twenty-seven years — over
a quarter of a century I have dictated
this people ; that ought to be some
evidence that my course is onward
and upward- But how do you know
that I may not yet do wrong ? How
do you know but I will bring in false
doctrine and teach the people lies
that they may be damned ? Sisters
can you tell the difference? lean
say this for the Latter-day Saints, j
and I will say it to their praise and
my satisfaction, if I were to preach
false doctrine here, it would not be
an hour after the people got out,
before it would begin to fly from one
to another, and they would remark, I
w I do not quite like that ! It does
not look exactly right! What did
Brother Brigham mean ? That did
not sound quite right, it was not
exactly the thing !" All these obser-
vations would be made by the people,
yes, even by the sisters. It would
not sit well on the stomach, that is,
on the spiritual stomach, if you think
you have one. It would not sit well
on the mind, for you are seeking
atter the things of God ; you have
started out for life and salvation, and
with all their ignorance, wickedness
and failings, the majority of this
people are doing just as well as they
know how ; and I will defy any man
to preach false doctrine without being
detected ; and we need not go to the
Elders of Israel, the children who
have been born in these mountains
possess enough of the Spirit to detect
it. But be careful that you do not
lose it ! Live so that you will know
the moment the Spirit of the Almighty
is grieved within you, Do you ever
see such times ? I do. I watch you.
I see, for instance, a company of
young people go and mingle, perhaps,
with old people, and hear them
laughing, joking, and talking non-
sense and folly. By and by darkness
comes — leanness of the soul j and one
says, " My head don't feel right ; my
heart is not right ; my nerves are not
right ; I do not know what is the
matter, but I da not enjoy myself
here this evening." Do you know
what is the matter ? You ought to
live so that the very moment the
Spirit of the Lord is grieved, stop
that instantly, and turn the attention
of every individual to something else
that will retain the good Spirit of tha
Lord and give you an increase of it*
This is the way to live.
Have you this experience, sisters ?
Yes, many of you have. We need
not go to the Elders of Israel to ask
them. Do yon see people apostatize ?
206 JOURNAL OF
Yes. Will more go? Yes, many
more. It is a day of trial — a day
wherein the Lord will try the hearts
of the children of men ; and he is
taking a course now with individuals
and with nations, to make them
exhibit the very ceutre of their hearts,
as governments, as nations, as cities,
as heads of families and as individuals,
that he may reveal the secrets thereof,
that they may be known to each
other. Consequently you can see the
necessity of every person living so
as to have the Spirit of revelation*
Brother George A, Smith has been
speaking about our little trials in
Missouri* I do not wish to cast
reflections on any person, but I do
not acknowledge that I ever received
persecution; my path has been so
kind from the Lord I do not consider
that 1 have suffered enough even to
mention it. But when the words of
Governor Lillburn W. Boggs were
read by Genera] Clark, with regard
to our leaving the State or renouncing
our religion, I sat close by him,
although I was the very particular
one they wanted to get and were
inquiring for ; but as kind Providence
would have it they conld not tell
whether it was Brigham Young they
were looking at or somebody else.
No matter how this was done, they
could not tell. But, standing close
by General Clark, I heard him say,
** You are the best and most orderly
people in this State, and have done
more to improve it in three years
than we have in fifteen. Yon have
showed us how to improve, how to
raise fruit and wheat, how to make
gardens, orchards and so on ; and on
these accounts we want you ; but we
have this to say to you, No more
bishops, no more high councils, and
as for your prophet/' and he pointed
down to where Joseph lay, right in
the midst of the camp, "you will
never see him again/1 Said I to
DISCOUKSE&
myself, " May be so and may be not;
but I do not believe a word of it/f
w And," continued he, " disperse, and
become as we are/' Do you « ant I
should tell you what I thought ? I
do not think I \\ ill. I thought a
kind of a bad thought, that is, it
would be considered so by a very
religious person, and especially if he
was well stocked with self- righteous-
ness , but I would as soon as not tell
what I thought to those who have
not much of this and are nut very
pious, and it was, " I will see you in
hell first.11 Renounce my religion ?
* No, sir," said I, " it is my ;>1I, all I
have on this earth. What is this
world worth as it is now ? Nothing.
It is like a morning shadow; it is
like the dew before the sun, like the
grass before the scythe, or the flower
before the pinching frosts of autumn.
No, sir, I do not renounce my religion,
I am looking beyond ; my hopfe is
beyond this vale of tears, and beyond
the present life. I have another life
to live, and it is eternal. The
organization and intelligence CJod has
given me are not to perish in nonen-
tity ; I have to live, and I calculate
to take such a course that my life
hereafter will be in a higher state of
existence than the present." Said
he, " Forsake your religion, and
become as we are !" I had been round
the country enough to know the
practice of both priest and people.
On Saturday they would get together
and run horses, throw up coppers to
see who would treat, get pretty drunk,
. and perhaps get up a good sound
quarrel, and then the priest would
step in half drunk, and with long
face and sanctimonious drawl preach
on the evils of intemperance and so
on. " Become as you are ? God
forbid/' said I. You are as low and
degraded as possible, living here
without schools, orchards or mills,
I like the brutes almost, in your little
THE GOSFKL, ETC
207
cabins ! Bacon and hominy ! Bacon
and Indian bread, honey and milk, and
they were perfectly satisfied. As I
heard one of these great nobles say,
on a certain occasion when at his
house; we were holding a two-days*
meeting ; he did not belong to the
Church, but his family did. Said he,
** Mr. Young, I have a great deal of
property and some money, and 1 do
not know what to do with it, I think
I will go up to your place and buy,"
He had a log house, all in one room,
with six beds in it. Not a light of
glass to light the room ; and just to
instruct my sisters bow to cook, I
will tell them something about the
first meal we had there, A twelve-
quart tin milk pan was set on the
table, filled with beef, stacked as you
see cannon balls, up to the peak or
roof, in arsenals. I think there was
about two ounces of butter on the
table, white as cheese card. This
was in the month of August, when
the fat beeves were standing around,
and I do not know how many cows,
sheep, oxen, horses, geese, turkeys
and fowls were running round his
yard ; and I do not think that his
pile of beef in the milk pan had a
half or a quarter of an ounce of fat
on it. Said they to us, " Help your-
selves, lay hold a:*d help yourselves ;"
and we did, to a piece of dry bread,
dry beef and a little "clean" butter —
we always called such butter " clean,"
because it looked so white* I recollect
on Sunday morning, you will excuse
me for telling this anecdote, after we
had sat down and had eaten a little,
the lady of the house said, ** Brother
Young, take a piece of pie ! Brother
Kimball, take a piece of pie," They
had a large peach orchard, with
hundreds of bushels of ripe peaches,
probably not all worked up into
brandy, but still they could not afford
a ripe peach for a pie. The lady put
a piece of pie on the plate, and I cut
a little off and turned it over and
looked at it, and said I, " Yes, I will
taste your pie, for I never saw the
like before in my life; did you,
Brother Kimball?" No, S-i-r, I
n-e-v-e-r did," There were peaches
that bad fallen from the trees before
they were ripe, cut in two and the
pits taken out, put on a piece of dough,
not even the fuzz wiped off, and then
another cake put over the tip, nothing
else inside but this, and then baked
in a bake pan, or 44 Dutch oven," as
we used to call it. " It is peach pie,
Brother Brigham ; Brother Kimball,
will you take a bit of pie, it is peach
pie." I never saw the like before,
and there the man sat, as happy and
contented as could be. And this is
like Missouri, all over, as it used to
be, " I do not know what to do with
my means," and yet he had not a
light of glass in the place, and had
to open the door to see to eat ; and
six beds in one room. We slept there
with the family, not with the wife,
but with the whole family — men,
women and children. Said the owner
of the place, " I declare, 1 think I
will go and purchase some land." I
said to him, " How would it do to
have this floor fixed and made com*
fortable?" It was made of oak
boards sawed out and dried up, and
you might have shoved your hand
down between each one; and it was
just so with the chamber, and when
a person walked on it, it went
" clatter," " clatter," " clatter." Said
I, how would it be to have this floor
planed, matched and nailed down,
so that when the children walk over
it it will not make so much noise?
And how would it be to have a
window ? When the weather geta
cold, it will be pretty uncomfortable
to have to open the door to see to eat,
knit, sew and so on ?" « Well," said
he^ a I declare I never thought of
that ;" and I do not suppose he ever
had in his life. I dare not say much,
io I abridged my remarks, and wound
up as quickly as possible. The
gentleman, I believe, continued to
live there, and for anything I know,
he is there still j at any rate he did
not come up to the gathering place
and buy property. This was the
style of living there, and they wanted
us to adopt it, and become as they
were, " No, sir," said I, " I am for
improvement" I guess General Clark
lived in just about such a house, and
I think the others did. We printed
the first papeis, except about two, set
out the first orchards, raised the first
wheat, kept almost the first schools,
and made the first improvements in
our pioneering, m a great measure,
from the Mississippi river to the
Pacific Ocean; and here we got at
last, so as to be out of the way of
everybody, if possible. We thought
we would get as far as we could from
the face of man ; we wanted to get to
a strange land, like Abraham, that
we might be where we should not be
continually wrong with somebody or
other, and have them crying, " Oh,
you Mormons !" and have the priests
preaching, the press printing, the
drunkard swearing, and all, high and
low, rich and poor, wishing these
poor " Mormons '5 were ont of the
w*y. We got out of the way as far
as we could ; and if we can get out
of the way any further and do any
good, we are ready to get out of the
way ; but I think we are as far out
of the way as we need to be ; and we
have got on the highway which has
been cast up, and I think we had
better stay here.
As far afi our doctrines are con-
cerned, come on my brother from the
*' Mother Church," down to the last
one that has come out with something
sew. Come on, yon revivalists, what
have you got ? If you have anything
better than we have, come up here
and let us have it. Our belief an
doctrine with regard to the human
family is that if we know more than
you, we will give our knowledge to
you, then you will know as much
as we; and by the time you have
acquired it we will know a little
more, and be ahead every time we
impart knowledge. Like the teacher
in the school, no matter whether he
is teaching a, b, c, a-b ab, or in the
higher branches, while teaching
others, he or she is also increasing.
While those who, in the providence
of God, are the possessors of know-
ledge and wisdom, are dispensing
them to otheri^they are increasing
their own store. That is our principle
of action* Take the poor, do not go
down to the poor and the ignorant,
lift them up, and give them all we
have, and we go ahead and get more,
and impart to the inhabitants of the
earth until they are filled with wis-
dom, knowledge and understanding.
To my text again —
How do we know that Jesus is the
Christ? By the revelations of the
Spirit of God. How do we know
that the Bible is true ? We know
that a great deal of it is true, and
that in many instances the translation
is incorrect. But I cannot say what
a minister once said to me, I asked
"him if he believed the Bible, and he
replied, " Yes, every word of it"
" You do not believe it all to be the
word of God ?** *' Most assuredly I
do," Well, said I, you can beat me
at believing, that's certain, As, I
read the Bible it contains the words
of the Father and Son, angels, good
and bad, Lucifer, the devil, of wicked
men and of good men, and some are
lyingand some — thegood — are telling
the truth ; and if you believe it all
to be the word of God you can go
beyond me, I cannot believe it all
to be the word of God, bat I believe
it as it is.
THE GOSPEL, ETC. 209
How do we know it is true? By
revelation. How do we know that
prophets wrote the word of the Lord f
By revelation. How do we know
that Joseph Smith was called of God
to establish his kingdom upon the
earth ? By revelation. How do we
know that the leaders of this people
teach the truth ? By revelation.
How do we know the doctrine of
baptism tor the remission of sins to
be trne ? It is written in the Bible ;
but the Christian world deny it,
because it is not manifested to them
by the revelations of the Lord Jesus.
They have not the keys of revelation,
although some believe baptism by
immersion, but they do not believe it
is for the remission of sins, except
one society, which came out from the
Close Communion Baptists, founded
by Alexander Campbell. He baptized
for the remission of sins. At this
time I was a Methodist. Said I,
*c Why not luy on hands for the re-
ception of the Holy Ghost ?" « 0,"
Slid they, " we have no authority to
do that, it is done away.1' " How do
you know that baptism for the remis-
sion of sins is not done away ? Your
arguments confuse themselves, and
these self-confounding arguments are
all chaos to me. If you have the
right to baptize for the remission of
sins, you have the right to lay on
hands for the reception of the Holy
Ghost ; and if you have this power
and authority, of course you have
, and possess the various gifts
and graces recorded in the New
Testament. Do you lay hands on the
sick?" "Oh, no" * Do you pro-
phecy ?" " We do not believe in it."
Most Christians disbelieve in these
things, but " believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ," is their great point;
and, so far as it goes, it is good. But
unless we obey his Gospel, where
God and Christ are we cannot live
hereafter, but shall have to take
No. 14.
another kingdom, live in another
place and be administered to by those
who are higher. What do you say,
is that correct ? I will just read a
word or two and then stop. Here is
the doctrine. I am not going to say
anything about it, but will just read
it. " For, for this cause was the
Gospel preached also to them that are
dead, that they might be judged
according to men in the flesh, but
live according to God in the Spirit,"
First Peter, 4th chapter, 6th verse.
What does that mean ? Not only
in the world, but out of the world,
they who expect to receive any salva-
tion at all must hearken to the
requirements of heaven, thus far, to
entitle them to the Spirit of the Lord
Jesus, that they may live by the
revelations thereof, and walk no more
in darkness, but in the light of life.
I do wish that each and every one of
us would do that. Are we able to do
it. ? Certainly ; it is the simplest
thing in the world. Well, then, just
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
" Oh," say the Christians, " we do
believe." Well, then, come forward,
and be baptized for the remission of
your sins, and receive the laying on
of hands for the reception of the Holy
Ghost, then you shall receive the
witness, and you shall be the possessor
of the Spirit of revelation according
to the gifts and graces of God as he
dispenses them to yon — speaking in
tongues, interpreting the same, pro.
phecying, dreaming dreams, and so
forth, for all these are by the self-
same Spirit, which is the Spirit of
Christ
If we will live so that Christ can
make us one through our obedience,
where are wars and contentions ? All
will cease. Where is the spirit of
bickering ? There will be no more
of it. How much pleasanter it would
look, and how much better it would
be for the world if these things were
Vol. XIV.
to cease ! " Well/' say the world,
u you Mormons, forsake this ob
noxious doctrine and practice of hav-
ing more wives than one/* For
heaven's sake, then, cease killing the
men, and let them live and take the
women, or you will oblige us to take
more than we know what to do with.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
obey his doctrine, cease your warring
and contention, beat your swords into
ploughshares and your spears into
pruning hooks ; make railroads, build
colleges, teach the children, give them
the learning of the world and the
things of God ; elevate their minds,
that they may not only understand
the earth we walk upon, but the air
we breathe, the water we drink, and
all the elements pertaining to the
earth ; and then search other worlds,
and become acquainted with the
planetary system, the dwellings of
the angels and the heavenly beings,
that they may ultimately be prepared
for a higher state of beiug, and tin ally
be associated with them. I wish we
would do it ; I pray the Lord to do
it, but he will not, unless we help
him.
7
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH;
Delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday,
August 13, 3871 ♦
(Reported by David W. Evans.)
THE LORD'S Si: ITER— HISTORICAL REMINISCENCES — THE PURITANS.
In the providence of our Heavenly
Father we are permitted once more'
to assemble for the purpose of par-
taking of the Sacrament of onr Lord
and Savior, It appears that on the
night previous to his arrest, he gave
to bis disciples this ordinance. It
was in a manner instituting anew the
ordinance that Israel had observed
from the time of leaving Egypt —
namely, the feast of the Passover.
When we assemble for the purpose of
partaking of this ordinance it is very
important for us to realize and appre-
ciate the position which we take, for
we witness to our Father who is in
heaven, by the partaking of the bread
and of the water, that we do remember
hira; and while we take the bread
from the same plate we should not
hold within our hearts feelings or
sentiments other than what are right.
To use the expression of the Savior,
in the ever memorable sermon on the
Mount, "When thou bringest thy
I gift to the altar, consider whether
thy brother hath aught against thee/*
Every man who receives the principles
i of the Gospel of peace and obeys the
ordinances of initiation into the +
Church is under obligations to lead a
straightforward, moral and upright
life, to deal justly, to love mercy and
to walk humbly in observance of the
principles which he has received. To
neglect these things, to suffer our-
selves to stray from them, to become
forgetful of the principles and ordi-
nances of the Gospel, under all cir-
cumstances, should be avoided. If
we love each other, as we should do,
we should never be found speaking
evil of each other. In almost all
communities, so fur ns my knowledge
of history extends, one of the great
banes of society is a disposition to
tattle, to bpeak evil one of another;
and I have noticed that this habit has
not always been forsnken by those
who are called Latter-day Saint* ; but
at times there seems to be a fet-ling
of willingness to retail scandal. When
we come to partake of the sacrament
if we have injured our brother, sister
or neighbor, it is our duty 1,o make
these things right, and to come wisely,
prudently and conscientiously. If
we harbor evil thoughts, or are the
slaves of evil passions, when we
stretch forth our hand to partake of
the sacrament, we may be guilty,
peradventure, of fulfilling that dread-
ful position referred to by the Apostle
— uHe that eateth and drinketh
unworthily, eateth and drinketh
damnation to his own soul"
There are certain principles which
God has revealed, by the observance
of which we are entitled to his Holy
Spirit; but when Latter-day Saints
neglect their duties and fail to observe
these principles and defile their bodies
they cease to become tit temples fur
the Holy Spirit to dwell in, and the
li^ht that is in them becomes dark-
ness. It seems that at the last supper
Peter was so sanguine, so fully deter-
mined and set in his faith that he
declared to the Savior, though he
should die with him yet would he not
deny him ; and yet in a very few
hours after, when he saw his Master
seized rudely by the high priests and
soldiery, and dragged away, and a
crown of thorns placed upon his head,
he denied him. When his Master
was first taken Peter was ready to
1 J
fight for him. He was like a great
many Latter-day Saints I have seen
— they would much rather fight for
their religion than try to live it It
was so at that time with Peter, He
1 drew his sword and was ready to cut
and slay, but his Master said to himf
"Put up thy sword," and he healed
the wounded servant, Peter did not
understand that; it did not look
like the temporal dominion he ex-
pected to see Jesus possess ; and when
he was accused of being one of his
disciples, he answered, " I know not
what thou sayeat," denying him, to
whom, but a few hours before, he had
expressed such strong attachment.
When Peter went out the cock crew,
and then he remembered the words
of Jesus, and he wept bitterly. It is
said of this Apostle that when he
came to the end of his earthly career,
which was crucifixion by the hands of
his enemies, he requested that he
might be crucified with his feet
upwards ; because he had denied his
Master he was unwilling to be put on
the cross in the same position.
This weakness exists in the breasts
of all human beings, more or less ; all
have their times of trial, and their
days of temptation and suffering* We
remember, in the days of our Prophet
Joseph Smith, whom God sent us in
these last days with the dispensation
of the fullness of times, and the
restoration of the Gospel and Priest-
hood, that many, who stood by him
and professed to be his most warm
and ardent friends, not only turned
away at his death, hut in many
instances became bitter enemies. This
weakness exists, and there are reasons
why it exists in the human heart.
For instance, God requires his children
to pray ; but through labor, business
and care they frequently fail to fulfill
212 JOURNAL OF
the requirement either in their families
01 in secret, and in a little while their
minds become darkened ; and in con-
sequence of this neglect the Spirit of
the Lord withdraws from them, and .
they forget what they once knew.
Yoa let a man among the Saints
indulge in any habit prohibited in
the Gospel, and the same result will
follow if continued. If he allow
himself to take the name of the Lord
in vain, and continue in it, the Spirit
of the Lord will withdraw from him.
If he allow himself to be guilty of |
dishonesty, corruption, licentiousness
or anything that is prohibited in the
Gospel of peace, peradventme, his
mind becomes darkened. He, to-day,
might bear testimony that be knew
this to be the work of God ; and he
might, by neglect of duty, in time
become so darkened that he would
conclude he hardly did know it, and
finally that he did not know it These
are the results of losing the light of
the Holy Spirit, hence the exhortation
that every man who partakes of the
sacrament should be careful, and make
it a time of reckoning — bringing our
minis up to the standard and knowing
that we are right.
I notice in the observance of the
Word of Wisdom, a manifestation of
the Holy Spirit connected with it.
Whenever a person has failed to
observe it, and becomes a slave to his
appetite in these simple things, he
gradually grows cold in his religion ;
hence I constantly feel to exhort my
brethren and sisters, both by precept j
and example, to observe the Word of
Wisdom. We should not be thought-
less, careless nor neglectful in the
observance of its precepts. " Why,
it cannot do any hurt," says one,
" to take a glass of ale !" I recollect
seeing a man once in England, who
said to me, " Mr. Smith, how can it
be possible that it can injure a man
to drink the matter of half a pint of
DISCOURSES.
ale ?" He had had so much that he
could not stand without leaning
against a fence, and yet he could not
see how it could injure a man to take
a half pint; but if he had not taken
the first half pint he could have stood
as well as anybody. It may as well
be said, and no doubt often is, How
can it hurt a man to chew tobacco or
to drink tea? It injures, because it
creates a disturbance in the human
organization, and that disturbance, if
continued, creates an appetite to
which its possessor becomes a slave,
and it shortens his days ; and while
living his condition is such that he
cannot as efficiently perform the
duties devolving upon him as he
otherwise could.
We have every reason to be thank-
ful that God has preserved us from
the wrath of our enemies. He has
led us by the inspired hand of, his
servant Brigrham into the valleys
beyond the Rocky Mountains, in the
Grent Basin ; and he has blessed the
desert land, that with the labor and
toil of twenty or twenty-four years,
has become manifest in stretching
forth the curtain of the habitations of
Zion. We have every reason to be
thankful for these blessings^ for pre-
vious to that time we are all well
aware that we did not taste of but
very little of what might be called
religious liberty ; for the very moment
that the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints was organized by
Joseph Smith, with six members, the
hand of persecution and oppression
was raised to destroy it It not only
extended to scandal and abuse> but to
personal violence and to a long-
continued succession of vexatious
lawsuits; to the tearing down of
houses, daubing men with tar and
feathers, and driving from place to
place. I have heard the scandal
brought np occasionally that the
Mormons were driven from Jackson
County, Missouri, for stealing horses.
Now the facta of the case are that there
is not, nor can be found on record
in the county of Jackson, a solitary
syllable in any docket or record of
any court the account of any crime
or charge of crime against any in-
dividual belongiug to the Church of
the Latter-day Saints* From the
time they settled there until the ex-
pulsion, amongst them it was one
straightforward scene of good beha-
vior. The charges on which they
were driven were specified, published
and signed by a large number of
distinguished individuals, and these
were that they (the Mormons) " differ
from us in religion j? and that they
also " anoint the sick with holy oil,"
and " They openly blaspheme the
most high God, and cast contempt on
his holy religion by pretending to
receive revelations direct from heaven,
by pretending to speak unknown
tongues, by direct inspiration, and by
diverse pretences derogatory of God
and religion and to the utter subver-
sion of human reason ;" " that the
* Mormons' tampered with the slaves,"
<fcc. It is very true that the Mor-
mons in Jackson County, Missouri,
were not slaveholders ; but the laws
of the State on that subject were so
very rigid that it required no mob
power to enforce them ; and as every
office in the State, both civil and
military, was held by men not u Mor-
mons," and especially in the county
of Jackson, it is not likely that there
would have been any difficulty to
enforce the law. The declaration on
which the mob was organized, and
which was signed by clergymen and
other gentlemen, was " The civil law
does nut afford us a guarantee against
this people,' 1 which was as much as
to say, they were a law-abiding people.
Well, bat did you practice plurality
of wives ? Not at all, the principle
was unknown in the Church ; it had
j not been revealed, and every man and
woman in the Church was rigidly, to
all intents and purposes, strict mono-
gamists. In 1838-9 these Latter-day
Saints were expelled from the State
of Missouri, and no charge of prac-
ticing polygamy existed against them ;
but when they were gathered together
and received their grand sentence
under the exterminating order of t he
governor of the State, they were tnld
that if they u assembled together
again and organized with bishops mid
presidents they should be utterly
destroyed but they were required
to leave the State and that in a very
short time, which they did, leaving
all their property. It is very well
\ known that some three hundred and
eighteen thousand dollars were paid
by Latter-day Saints for land in the
State of Missouri, and that very few
if any of them, ever got a dollar for
that hind, and it belongs to them to
this day j and when the great and
glorious day shall corne that the
Constitution of the United States
shall become absolutely the supreme
law of the land, guaranteeing to nil
men the right of life, liberty and
property, the Saints can inherit this
land and live and enjoy their faith
there as well as anywhere else. All
these things had occurred, and the
hand of persecution did not stay
until, in 1844, it had slain the
prophets, and, in 1845-6, had driven
the people, and robbed and peeled
them of the property they had accu-
mulated in Illinois, nnd in 1347 the
pioneers' advanced guard, led by
President Young, succeeded in mak-
ing a road, and founding a colony in
this valley,
I In 1843 the law on celestial mar-
riage was written, but not published,
and was known only to perhaps one
, or two hundred persons* It was
written from the dictation of Joseph
' Smith, by Elder William Clayton,
p
2U
journal of Dis. v-r
his private secretary, who is now in
this city. This revelation was pub-
lished in 1852, read to a general
conference, and accepted as a portion
of the faith of the Church. Elder
Orson Pratt went to Washington and
there published a work called the
" Seer" in which this revelation was
printed, and a seines of articles show*
ing forth the law of God in relation
to marriage. From that time to the
present the power of the enemies of
the Latter-day Saints to persecute
them aeems to have been broken ; for
since then we have never been com-
pelled to forsake our inheritances.
The press and the pulpit have, of
course, been called into requisition
more or less, and a great amount of
lies and scandal has been published,
and politicians have endeavored to
make capital and money out of ex-
terminating the " Mormons," and
fortunes out of m Mormon " blood,
and more or less difficulty has oc-
curred; but during that period the
Saints have been able to proceed along
with their work* They have laid out
a hundred and fifty towns and cities,
and have built them up to a greater
or less extent, extending their settle*
men Is five hundred miles through this
great desert"] They have also been
able to hold in check the savage tribes
of Indians and to gain influence over
them ; and with a few interruptions,
arising from the reckless character
and conduct of transients, have been
enabled to maintain towards them a
peace hitherto unknown in any State
or Territory in the midst of an Indian
population.
It required faith and energy to
settle in such a country- For the
first three years after the settlement
commenced hardly any person dared
to eat as much food as his appetite
craved ; so scarce were provisions that
it was necessary to economize and eke
out every little supply to its greatest
possible extent, A great many be-
came discouraged and disheartened,
| having the idea that the country could
never ho leclaimed ; many went away,
but generally returned after awhile^
quite surprised at the progress made
during their absence. Our visitors
look at. our city and say, " What a
beautiful place! how did you find so-
lovely a place ?" I can answer.
When we reached here it was a naked '
sage* plain, bearing very little sage,
the hmd being too poor; but industry
and a wise and careful application of
tlie water to the soil has produced the
vegetation here to be seen. For
awhile alter we came hear we could
occasionally hear of rejoicing from
pulpit and press that H Joseph Smith,
the at ch* impostor," as they called
him, was dead, and that the ** Mor-
mons " were diiveu into the wilder-
ness, where they would all perish, and
they should never hear anything
more about them. Yet it only took
a few years for them to discover that
this people were yet alive, and that
they were living in the exercise of
their faith, and making themselves
felt, known, realized and understood
in the world. Now, inasmuch as
God has thus blessed us and extended
to us so many great privileges, it is
-very important that we should abide
in the faith wherein Christ has made
us free, and live in the exercise of
that religion, and not by any means
sutler ourselves to fall into snares,
temptation, wickedness or evil. We
have every reason to be thankful to
our Heavenly Father for his many
blessings.
Our organization as a church differs
widely from almost every other. For
instance, almost every denomination
has, in its organization, a plan for the
support of a minister — a salaried
gentleman. When we commenced to ,
preach the Gospel to the world
without purse or scrip, without money
THE LORD'S SUPPER, ETC.
or price, these ministers were generally
the first to raise the hue and cry, to
tar and feather, and throw rotten
eggs at us; to drive us from our
homes and tear down our habitations;
and in every mob, from the com-
mencement to the close of the per-
secutions, were to be found men
professing to be ministers of the
Gospel ; and although the denomina-
tions to which they belonged might
not be disposed to persecute, yet they
disgraced them by taking pat t in such
proceedings. It is said that the men
who slew the Savior believed they
did God service, and it is probable
that the ministers, professors of re-
ligion and others, who, with blackened
faces, surrounded Carthage jail and
murdered, in cold blood, the Prophet
and Patriarch of the Church, Joseph
and Hyrum Smith, thought they
also were doing God service, although
they were guilty of the most brutal
and disgraceful murders ever perpe-
trated on the earth.
There is one thing very peculiar in
relation to us. I have noticed it from
the fact that I have been a student,
to some extent, of the history of the
Puritan fathers who settled in New
England, It is very well known that
they escaped from tyranny in their
mother country; they were oppressed
there in their religions faith. Their
views were of a different kind to those
of the established church ; and it was
in consequence of oppresaion of this
kind that they sought a home in the
wilds of America; and in almost
every instance, as soon as they had
established a home, they commenced
making rules and proscribing every-
body who differed in opiniou with
themselves. You will notice this,
especially if you read the early history
of Massachusetts, The colouists of
that State were very stringent in
particular items of faith and practice.
I have always felt a little proud of
the noble heart of my fourth great-
grandfather Zaccheus Gould, because
he actually had the courage to keep
the Quakers at bis farm the very
night after they had been proscribed
by the colonial government and ex-
pelled from Salem, and for this and
supplying them with the common
necessaries of life and then allowing
them to proceed on their way in the
morning, he was fined and compelled
to stand up in the church, and hear
his confession read. But I am proud
of the feelings and sentiments of the
man that, although a Puritan, he had
1 so much humanity in him,
I notice, in looking over the history
of New England, that our Puritan
fathers lacked an understanding of
: the power of principle* If a man
preached a sermon that did not please
them he must leave the colony j he
could not retire to his form, lot or
inheritance, and there attend to his
own business ; no, they would fre-
quently tear down his house, put hira
aboard a ship and send him a way-
Numbers of instances of this kind
are on record ; and the sect most
noted tar its principle of non-resistance
to all men — the Quakers, were whip-
ped and tarred and feathered, and
some of them put to death ; and.
numbers of them were expelled from
the colony, and that, too, by men
who, we cannot doubt, believed in
their own hearts, that they acted from
good motives. They did these things
from a determination that they would
cleanse the people* Still, after awhile,
' this feeling wore away.
1 I notice, from the very commence-
ment of our settlement of these valleys
i that there never has been a law
enacted or regulation made bnt what
would affect the interests of all
' societies and denominations alike.
There have been no special acts on
this account. As a matter ot course*
persons have been cut ofl the Church,
216
JOUKNAL OF DISCOURSES-
but their civil rights, and their
privileges under the laws have not
been in any way abridged . Had our
fathers, in New England, simply dis*
fellowshipped Mr. Williams as a
member of their church, and allowed
him to baptize people by immersion
if he choose, it would have been an
entirely different thing from com-
pelling him to leave the colony.
This spirit of intolerance is yielding
to the inarch of enlightenment, in
our own age and day, but still we as
a people have suffered severely from
its effects, for that alone compelled
ns to seek a home in these deserts.
But it is gratifying to reflect that we
have not nourished that spirit of
persecution in our hearts, for from the
time that emigrants commenced pass*
ing this way up to the present,
ministers of every denomination, men
of repute among their own people,
have been called upon and invited,
and, whenever they have desired it,
have had the privilege of preaching
to our congregations, and have held
meetings and organized churches in
our cities without interruption. These
facts are before the world. There
are scores of ministers who have
spoken in this stand, many of whom
have declared to the public that they
never spoke to so large an audience
and never expected to speak in so
lar^e a house in their lives j but when
a Latter-day Saint Elder has called
npon them and asked for the privilege
of preaching, their answer has been
in effect, 44 Why, no; I have a right
to preach in a heathen temple, but 1
cannot open my temple to a heathen !"
Such men dare not trust their con*
gregations to hear the truth, or per-
ad venture, to hear error. We have
had here some of the most eloquent
preachers, I believe, of the present
age ; and we were delighted that they
should display their eloquence in our
midst And if they have anything
better than we have we want it ; and
we think it is quite right for the
younger portions of our community,
who have not had the privilege of
hearing the religions of the day
preached in the world, to hear them
here; and the more of it the better,
if they desire it But the elder por-
tion of those who profess our faith
have generally belonged to or been
associateed with different religious
denominations ; for as our Elders
have preached abroad they have
gathered from every bundle and of
every kind ; and that portion of our
people are as thoroughly acquainted
with all the religions and the religious
tenets taught at the present day as
any people can be. But it is not so
with the younger members of our
Church, hence when we had a Metho-
dist camp meeting here, President
Young and the Eiders gave an invi-
tation to all the people, and especially
to the young, to go and hear the
teachings there given* That was the
reason they had such immense con*
gregations. The camp meeting did
not attract the miners; they cared
nothing about it ; they had seen and
known and learned all they wished
about them long ago. They did not
come here to hunt Methodism, but
silver and gold. But our people
turned out, especially in the evenings,
by thousands, and heard them speak
and formed their own opinions. I
have been at camp meetings in my
boyhood, and I did not think the one
held here a fair specimen — not what
a camp meeting used to be thirty-five
years ago.
If a faith will not bear to be in-
vestigated ; if its preachers and pro-
fessors are afraid to have it examined,
their foundation must be very weak.
Those who come into the Church of
Latter-day Saints, if they are faithfulf
learn in a short time, and know for
themselves. The Holy Spirit and
THE LORIES SUPPER, ETC,
217
the lisrht of eternal truth rest down
upon them, and you will hear them,
here and there, testify that they
knew of the doctrine, that they are
acquainted with and understand it for
themselves*
There has been a great howl from
the pulpit and the press calling upon
the government of the United States
to exert its power to suppress a prac-
tice in the faith of the Latter-day
Saints. Now the fact of the case is,
it is out of the power of any govern-
ment or nation to regulate religion at
the present age ; it is a matter that
must regulate itself. You may drive
men from their homes, rob them of
their possessions, murder their leaders,
deprive them of their civil and re-
ligions rights, but you cannot change
their opinions by such arguments;
and when men have recourse to them
it only signifies that the foundation
npon which their system is based is
very weak, and that their only hope
of enforcing their own and suppressing
the views of others is by force. Shame
on the low degraded feelings which
prompt such measures. In every
land freedom of thought and opinion
and the liberty to preach and practice
whatever religion you wish should be
guaranteed and the only method of
manifesting disapproval of the course
of others in these respects should be
to disfellowsbip them from their
churches. All should have this
privilege. It feels good for a man to
believe as he pleases; and if yon
undertake to check this, do not pat
to death, daub with tar and feathers,
or tear down the dwellings of those
w ho differ from you. Where is the
liberty, justice and uprightness of
such a course ? I have been through
the mill a little, and understand how
it teels.
For my own part, however, I be-
lieve that mankind generally are
getting wiser on this subject. Our
Puritan fathers never succeeded in
forcing their peculiar views on others,
and in time, even among themselves,
everybody could say about what he
pleased ; or at any rate the particular
points upon which there was the
greatest trouble were taken away.
So it will be in the present age.
It is very well understood that, by
many of the people, the law of mar-
riage is regarded as something insti-
tuted by God ; and that men, in their
laws and regulations on the subject,
have undertaken to govern their
fellows too much. Our fathers Abra-
ham and Jacob and many of the
prophets took steps in this matter,
which are now denounced by a large
portion of Christendom as very wrong;
and yet these very persons, in their
prayers and preachings, claim that
they are going to "Abraham's bosom,"
I can tell any man that wishes to
murder, rob and plunder, and deprive
of liberty a Latter-day Saint because
he believes and practices plurality of
wives, that he need never expect to
dwell in u Abraham's bosom," for
Father Abraham will not cast his
wives out to receive such narrow-
minded men, lean further tell them
that, if ever they come to the gates
of the New Jerusalem, they will there
find the names of the twelve sons of
Jacob ; and if they believe with all
their hearts that Jacob and his sons,
most of whom were polygamists, were
wicked men, and most of the sons
bastards, they had better stay outside ;
in fact they will not he permitted to
enter. Unless they can acknowledge
these twelve sons as lawful and
legitimate sons, in accordance wi th
the law of God, they will have to
stay outside, and " without are dogs,
sorcerers, whoremongers, idolators,"
and everybody that loves and makes
a lie.
May God enable us, one and all, to
be truly prepared to enter through
the gates into the city, is my prayer
in the name of Jesus. Amen.
215
J 01* ItNAL OF DISCOURSES.
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG
At Loo an, Sunday, July 23, 1871,
(Reported by Miss Julia Young.)
AN INCIDENT OF NAUVOO.
While brother George A. Smith
was referring to the circumstance of
William Miller going to Carthage, it
brought to my mind reflections of the
past. Perhaps to relate the circum-
stance as it occurred would be in-
teresting, i
I do not profess to be much of a
joker, but I do think this to be one of
the best jokes ever perpetrated. By
the time we were at work in the
Nanvoo Temple, officiating in the
ordinances, the mob had learned that
"Mormonistn 99 was not dead, as they
had supposed. We had completed j
the walls of the Temple, and the attic
story from about half way tip of t!ie
first windows, in about fifteen months.
It went up like magic, and we com-
menced officiating in the ordinances.
Then the mob commenced to hunt
for other victims; they bad already
killed theProphets Joseph andHyrum
in Carthage jail, while under the
pledge of the State for their safety,
and now the wanted Brigbam, the
President of the Twelve Apostles,
who were then acting as the Presi-
dency of the Church.
I was in my room in the Temple ;
it was in the south-east corner of the
upper story. 1 learned that a posse
was lurking around the Temple, and
that the United States Marshal was
waiting for me to come down, where-
upon I knelt down and asked my
Father in heaven, in the name of
Jesus, to guide and protect me that I
might live to prove advantageous to
the Saints. Just as I arose from my
knees and sat down in my chair, there
came a rnp at my door. I said,
*' Come in," and brother George D.
Grant, who was then engaged driving
my carriage and doing chores for me,
entered the room. Said he, ** Brother
Young, do you know that a posse and
the United States Marshal are here ?"
I told him I had heard so. On
entering the room brother Grant left
the door open. Nothing came into
my mind what to do, until looking
directlv across the hall I saw brother
William Miller leaning against the
wall. As I stepped towards the door
I beckoned to him; he came. Said
1 to him, " Brother William, the
Marshal is here for me ; wiH you go
and do just as I tell you ? If you
will, I will serve them a trick.*' I
knew that brother Miller was an
excellent man, perfectly reliable and
capable of carrying out my project.
Said I, '* Here, take my cloak ;" but
it happened to be brother Heber 0.
Kimball's; our cloaks were alike in
color, fashion and size. I threw it
around his shoulders, and told him to
wear my hat and accompany brother
George D. Grant. He did so. I
said to brother Grant, "George, you
step into the carriage and look
towards brother Miller, and say to
him, as though you were addressing
me, * Are you ready to ride ?' You
can do this, and they will suppose
AN IXC DENT NAUYOC*
brother Miller to be me, and proceed
accordingly," which they did.
Just as brother Miller was entering
the carriage, the Marshal stepped up
to him, aud, placing his hand upon
his shoulder, s:vid, " You are my
prisoner." Brother William entered
the carriage and said to the Marshal,
"I am going to the Mansion House,
wont you ride with me ?M They
both went to the Mansion House.
There were my sons Joseph A.,
Brigham, jun., and brother Heher C.
Kimball's boys, and others who were
looking on, and all seemed at once to
understand and partake of the joke.
They followed the carriage to the
Mansion House and gathered around
brother Miller, with tears in their
eyes, saying, " Father, or President
Young, where are you going ?"
Brother Miller looked at them kindly,
but made no reply ; and the Marshal
really thought he had got " Brother
Bingham."
Lawyer Edmonds, who was then
staying at the Mansion House, appre-
ciating the joke, volunteered to
brother Miller to go to Carthage with
him and sefc him safe through. When
they arrived within two or three
miles of Carthage, the Marshal with
his posse stopped, They arose in
their carriages, buggies and waggons,
and, like a tube of Indians going
into battle, or as if they were a pnck
of demons, yelling and shouting, they
exclaimed, " We've got him ! we've
got him! we've got him!" When
they reached Carthage the Marshal
took the supposed Brigham into an
upper room of the hotel, and placed
a guard over him, at the same time
telling those around that he had
gqt him. Brother Milter remained
in the room until they bid him come
to supper. While there, parties came
in, one after the other, and asked for
Brigham. Brother Miller was pointed
out to them. So it continued, until
an apostate Mormon, by t he name of
Thatcher, who had lived in Nauvoo,
came in, sat down and asked the
landlord where Brigham Young was.
The landlord, pointing across the
table to brother Miller, said, " That
is Mr, Young," Thatcher replied,
" Where ? I can't see any one that
looks like Brigham/' The landloid
told him it was that fat, fleshy man
eating. " Oh, hell !" exclaimed
Thatcher, " that's not Brigham ; that
is William Miller, one of my old
neighbors." Upon hearing this the
landlord went, and, tapping the Sheriff
on the shoulder, took him a few steps
to one suie, and said, " You have
made a mistake, that is not Br igham
Young; it is William Miller, of
Nauvuo." The Marshal, very much
astonished, exclaimed/1 Good heavens!
and he passed for Brigham." He
then took brother Miller into a room,
and, taming to him, said, " What in
hell is the reason you did not tell me
your name ?" Brother Miller replied,
" You have not asked me my name*"
" Well," said the Sheriff, wit h another
oath, " What is your name 3r" " My
name," he replied, " is William
Miller," Said the Marshal, "I
thought your name was Brigham
Young. Do you say this for a fact ?"
" Certainly I do," said brother Miller,
" Then,'1 said the Marshal, "why
did you not tell me this before?"
" I was under no obligations to tell
you," replied brother Miller, " as
you did not ask me," Then the
Maishal, in a rage, walked out of
the room, followed by brother Miller,
who walked off in company with
Lawyer Edmonds, Sheriff Backen-
stos, and others, who took him
across lots to a place of safety ;
and this is the real pith of the story
of " Bogus " Brigham, as far as 1
can recollect
220 JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG,
Delivered in the New Tabeenacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning,
Acgust 27, 1871*
(Reported by David W. Evans.)
MISSIONARIES — THE INFLUENCE OF MOTHERS.
I have a few words of counsel for
tlie returned missionaries, and all the
Elders of Israel may heed them if
they tee\ disposed to. You hear the
Elders, when they return and get up
in the stand, tell what happy days
they have experienced on their mis-
sions; how they have enjoyed them-
selves, the Spirit of the Lord has
rested upon them, how they have
spoken to their own astonishment,
words have been given them that
never entered their hearts before, and
when they have lifted up their voices
in the name of the Lord to testify of
the Gospel of the Son of God they
have astonished themselves, and so
on ; yon know what they say ! Now,
I wish to make this request : that the
Elders who retutn from missions
consider themselves just as much on
a mission here as in England or in
any other part of the world. There
is no people need preaching to more
than those who live in this Territory
and in these mountains. The Latter-
day Saints, or those who profess to
be, need talking to just as much as a
child who begins to prattle and run
around the house. It gets into mis-
chief continually and its mother has
to keep talking to it to keep it from
meddling with things that it should
not. It does not know how to guide
itself, and wants guiding and cor-
recting all the time; but not more
than the Latter-day Saints who
gather together. Now, Elders of
Israel, if you have the harness on,
keep it on and lift up your voices to
I the people here and teach them the
way of life and salvation ; and teach
obedience to the Priesthood, that they
may receive the blessings which are
promised to them who believe and
obey the Gospel as it is revealed in
j the latter days. Will you hearken to
this counsel, my brethren ? I have
! not the least objection to the sisters
considering themselves on missions
to teach their children the way of
life and salvation.
I feel like saying a few words about
I seeing so many empty benches here;
bat there is some excuse for this, for
if you were to take this congregation,
small as it seems, and try to put it
.into the common halls where our
brethren have preached, you would
find a portion of it out of doors; and
very few meeting houses in the
eastern country would hold the people
; who are here this morning. Still
there could be a great many more
here. It is true that many attend
Sunday school with the children in
the morning, but if children who do
not attend school were to receive
proper teaching from their mothers,
they would be at meeting on Sunday
morning. Mothers, will you be mis-
sionaries? We will appoint you a
mission to teach your children their
duty ; and instead of ruffles and fine
MISSION ABIES, ETC
221
dresses to adorn the body, teach them
that which will adorn their minds.
Let what yon have to clothe them
with be neat and clean and nice*
Teach them cleanness and purity of
budy and the principles of salvation,
and they will delight to come to these
meetings, I attribute the wanderi ng
of otir young people to the teachings
of their mothers. Yon see young
ladies here wandering after the
fashions of the world ; I attribute it
to their mothers, and the mothers
know hot little more than their
daughters. If you will take this
counsel, and begin and teach your
children as you should, we will have
more here of a morning than we have
generally. There aie a great many
people in this city who should attend
meeting on a Sunday morning —
enough to fill this house, besides
those who go to Sunday school
When they were in the lands where
they were hated and the finger of
scorn was pointed at them, they
delighted only in the society of their
brethren ; and when they had an
opportunity to escape trom their
arduous labors, they would travel day
or night to meet with the Saints.
But here everything is so free, so
easy and delightful, that they are
here, there and everywhere but where
they should be* A few Latter-day
Saints, however — and I think the
majority of them, are doing the best
they know how. But our brethren,
when they return from their missions,
complain at what they see, and I do
not wonder. Will you, Brother
Dewey, set the example and come to
meeting every Sunday ? or shall I, in
a few Sundays, hear that you are gone
on a pleasure excursion, that you are
riding out here or there ? How will
it be with Brother Shipp and others
who have been speaking ? How long
will it be before we bear that you
have gone on the railroad to Wasatch
or somewhere else on a pleasure ex-
cursion, or to your farm or to visit
your brethren? There is one thing
that we have to meet with here* In
our community we have a few from
the Society of Friends ; we comn.only
call them Quakers* As far as I have
known them, and I have known them
as long as I can remember, if they do
not work or visit on the Sabbath,
they will mourn the whole week.
They are so free and independent that
| they want to show the whole human
family that they have no more regard
for one day than another, and espe-
cially the Sabbath day. We have to
meet with this influence here as well
as other things; and unless our
Quaker friends who come into the
Church are continually led they will
i never come to meeting ; they are sure
to be fishing, going after hay or
hunting their cattle; and these prac-
tices have their influence on others.
I wish to say to the Elders and
mothers in Israel : teach your children
as they should be taught and you will
find they will never stray from the
path of rectitude. There is more
depending upon mothers than is
generally supposed. You may take
any nation in the world, and just let
the mothers say there should not be
a soldier in the army, and kings
might call for soldiers, but they would
be disappointed if they expected to
obtain any. Mothers bear more in-
fluence in the nations of the earth
than they are aware of. Take my
counsel, and teach your children how
to live, teach them to pray, to come
to meeting ; teach them to love the
Lord and to believe and read the
Bible, and when they grow up they
I will delight in doing right.
As for the so-called Christian world,
all I wish to say about it I can say in
a few words. Yesterday, when talking
about the priests, I discovered there
was considerable humor in our beloved
JOURNAL OF
DISCOURSES.
brother who has been speaking to us
this morning, and I joked him; and
I will joke him again a little more
severely, by telling a little anecdote
of Sir Francis Train ; you have all
heard of George Francis Train, I call
him "Sir" Francis. He says, in
speaking of a certain dignitary, " J nst
sit down and tell me all you know in
five mi no tea P I make that applica-
tion to all the so-called Christian
divines — sit down and tell all you
know about God, heaven and bell in
five minutes ; you can do it, it does
not require any more time, for you
know nothing. They say they believe
the Bible ; but if, when they open ;
and read it, any one of them can
discriminate, and tell what part to
believe and what to reject, let that
man come forth, speak by the power
of God and draw the line that we
may know the truth ; but if they
have no revelation on the subject, let
them lay their hands on their mouths,
and them in the dust, and cry, ** un-
clean !" So much for the so-called
Christian world. As I said to our
brother yesterday, I have been routed
from a good home and plenty of
means five times; but I never was
routed from home and possessions
without priests led the mob, never !
And yet amoug the priests of the day
there arc a great many good, honest
men. But in most of the communities
in the world, those who are unruly,
boisterous and wicked, can commit
acts of wickedness, and those who
are just will stand and look on until
the evil is performed and wonder
what is going on. There are thousands
and thousands of people in the United
States who deprecated the injuries
that we received from the hands of
mobs ; but what did they do? Stood
and looked on until all was over, and
then said, " I pity them/1 How much
did they pity us ? We had to pity
and take care of ourselves, and we
have learned to do it; hut we do
not say that all people are mobbers,
or that all will persecute, for they
will not; and I meet with a great
many ministers who are gentlemen,
who have hearts within them, and
I bid them God speed! Do what
good you can.
How often I have talked about the
missionary system of Christendom !
It is true that we do not believe in it
exactly as they do, for we believe in
sending out men without parse or
scrip, that they may prove the people
and see who will or will not feed a
servant of God ; and in this manner
our Elders have traversed almost
every nation on the face of the globe*
But these Christian Missionary So-
cieties have done an immense amount
of good, and they will have the credit
for it. God has got their credit
marks, and he will justify them as
far as they go ; but when light comes
into the world that they have not
conceived of, and they reject it, what
will be their condemnation ? Let
the Lord judge.
I Now, you Elders of Israel, I tarn
to you again — you missionaries, I
see a few of you here who have just
returned home, but a good many are
wanting. There are places here for
all, but they are not here. They
have been home a few weeks and
what are they doing ? Visiting with
their families, or perhaps gone to the
kanyon after wood; and those who
have just come home complain of the
coldness of the people and that many
are turning away from the command-
ments of the Lord. I say to those
who complain of these things — see
that you do not do likewise ! Come
to meeting and be ready to talk here.
Our religion, our Gospel, is not to
train a few men in all the sophistry
that learning can impart, and enable
them to address a congregation and
nothing else ; but our ministers or
TEMPERANCE
223
preachers work all the week in the
store, at the mechanic's bench, on the
farm, in the kanyon, or at whatever
is wanted to be done, and when
Sunday morning co nes they get up
here and preach a sermon ; and if
they cannot do thort, we consider they
do not possess the spirit of their mis-
sion. It is not so with the world.
Our Elders must support themselves
with their hands, as Paul did, I do
not care whether they are tent makers
or boat makers, let them earn their
own living, 1 have. For my part,
I consider that the honor God be-
stowed upon me in calling me to the
holy ministry was enough for me to
think it was my duty to support
myself iu this ministry and do honor
to the cause, without asking any
people for help. I have done so I
did, I believe, have a few shillings
given to me when in England. When
I landed there I had five shillings loft,
I stayed there a year and sixteen
days, and when we left one of the
beat ships in Liverpool docks tied up
f eight days for the sake of bringing
! us hone; and merchants and banking
houses were at our service, I did
business there in printing and dealing,
and so on ; bnt it did not tarnish my
' hands, nor stain my spirit, not in the
le;ist, and it would not to-day. We
must live, and we must sustain our-
selves, and come (o meeting, and he
ready also to attend ward meetings.
Do not come and ask me if you may
i go to preach, pray or lay hands on
the sick. Ask God to give you faith
to perform yoor duties, to walk
humbly before him, and to build up
his kingdom on the earth. That is
your duty. Yes, preach every night,
! we need a reformation here. Attend
meetings in the various wards. Take
your turns around from one ward to
another. Preach to the people until
they get the spirit of their mission
and calling. We all have a mission
as niuch at home as in a foreign land,
avid may God help us to improve
1 upon and magnify it !
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG,
Delivers in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon,
August 27, 1871,
(Reported by David W. Evans,)
TEMPERANCE.
First of all, I will inform this
congregation and the world of man*
kind at large with regard to the life
and character of Joseph Smith. As
a prophet it only requires age to make
his character as sacred as that of any
! man that ever lived on the face of
the earth. I want to say a few words
1 with regard to temperance* We are
a temperate people; this is what we
224 JOURNAL OF
have set out to be. We have lived
in this city a good many years, and,
until recently, when a stranger arrived
here and wanted to purchase liquor,
he htfd to inquire, t£ Where can I find
a place where they sell liquor ?" It
was not to be found ; and I will say
that such places would not he found
to-day among this people or in these
mountains were it not for the urgent
request of outsiders. We have to
bow down to the wishes and customs
of our fellow-men. There area great
many men here now in the mining
interests, and they want to put up
where they can purchase liquor, for
many of them drink. As for the
temperance societies which we have
befn hearing about, I can say that
with all the stringency in getting
laws passed to prevent the sale or use
of liquor in the Eastern States, when
those who were determined to obtain
it could do so in no other way, they
would get what appeared to be a
beautifully bound book, with " Pil-
grim's Progress ** on the outside, but
in the inside it would be full of
whiskey. As for our saying that the
inhabitants of the earth shall stop
using ardent spirits, we may say it,
but they will not mind us. As far
as the Latter-day Saints are concerned,
we have rights, others have rights —
all have rights ; and I would to God
that what our enemies say, with re-
gard to the word of Brigham Young
being law to the Latter-day Saints,
was true; but it is not
General Riley has been talking to
ns about temperance societies ; the
principles he advocates are excellent,
first-rate. More than fifty-five years
ago, in the same county where he lived,
I was asked to sign a pledge. This
was when I was a boy* He is about
five years my senior.*! We are ac-
quainted with the same people, towns,
counties, neighborhoods and districts,
and we have traveled the roads, and
DCSCOUESES.
built up the towns and were acquainted
in the country, and we know and
understand its character at the present
time.
Some people here take the liberty
to sell and dispose of their liquor
without license from the city. We
have a city here — an organized city ;
we have our municipal laws ; we have
officers for this city appointed by the
legislative power and enactments of
this Territory ; and we have some-
body or other here, who say, M You
have no law here only what we give
you, and you shall know that we are
the law to this people!" And are
not our city officers under bonds of
some sixty thousand dollars in the
aggregate for spoiling a nasty place
carried on contrary to law ? Yes,
they are, and held to bail by govern-
ment officers Well, what do we
care about it? Nothing* That goes
to a higher court, with a great many
other matters. They will go to a
court, I hope, of justice.
But we keep liquor here; we are
obliged to do it to accommodate our
neighbors who come here ; and some
Latter-day Saints take the liberty of
drinking. As far as these are con-
cerned they have a right to get drunk ;
but we have rights, and have a right
to disfellowship them, or cut them off
from the Church, and we calculate to
do it whenever it ought to be done.
We have been found fault with because
we cut people off from the Church !
What do you suppose the so-called
Christian world care abont our
Church ? Nothing on the face of
the earth only to annihilate it. That
is all they care for us, poor sinners,
in the mountains. What do they care
about our selling liquor ? Nothing,
if it will only lead our young men to
destruction. That is what they
want. Men are sent here, ostensibly,
to guard the rights of the people, but
in reality to destroy the people. What
TEMPERANCE, 325
was the connsel and advice of Mr.
Cass when the army of King James
came here in 1857 ? Said he, " Send
an army of young men to Utah to
decoy and destroy the young women
there, and that will break up 4 Mor-
monism/ " * There are men here now
who seem to think that it is their
imperative duty to sustain, at all
hazards, everybody in all acts which
are opposed to the Gospel.
General Riley has been preaching
temperance to the Latter-day Saints,
I do wish they would observe it* And
I will go a little further and say, I
would like to see them leave off, not
only all intoxicating drinks, but those
narcotic drinks — tea and coffee, and
the men their tobacco. Our lecturer,
I believe, observes all these things.
Look at him ; if it was not for his
grey head you would not suppose him
to be over thirty- five years old ; and
I expect he cuuld run a pretty good
foot race. What has done this?
Temperance, What has preserved
me? Temperance. I was a young
man in the same county with him,
and young men would say to me,
u Take a glass.** u No, thank you, it
is not good for rae !" M Why, yes, it
is good foi you." Thank you, I think
I know myself better than you know
me." Even then I said, u I do not
need to sign the temperance pledge."
I recollect my father urged me, " No,
sir," said I, '* if I sign the temperance
pledge I feel that I am bound, and I
wish to do just right, without being
bound to do it ; I want my liberty
and I have conceived from my youth
up that I could have my liberty and
independence just as much in doing
right as I could in doing wrong,
What do you say ? Is this correct ?
Am I not a free man, have not I the
power to choose, is not my volition as
free as the air I breathe ? Certainly
it is, just as much in doing right as
in doing wrong ; consequently 1 wish
No. 15,
to act upon my own volition, and do
what I ought to do* I have lived a
temperate lifej I feel as though I
could run through a troop and leap
over a wall.
Shall we preach to the Latter-day
Saints ? Yes. I thank the gentle-
man for his p>:h1 counsel to you,
Latter-day Saints, Observe it; and
I say to strangers, I do wish you
would observe it. I wish you would
say to us, " Down with the grogshops !"
If the strangers who come here to
hunt minerals ; those who are work-
ing them ; those who are poor and
those who are rich, and all classes, if
they would say, " Down with the
grogshops," the thing would be soon
done. Talking, I understand from
the General, has an influence among
the people, in helping to form public
opinion. • This is true; and if by
talking we can turn the tide of the
feelings of those who visit us, so that
they will be in favor of the City
Council passing an ordinance for
closing drinking holes, they would
soon be closed. We can say that we
are not bowing down to the wishes of
any person in the world any further
than it is true policy to let every
person have his rights. We can stop
this drinking and shut up these grog-
shops here. I do not go down the
streets to see them, and never have
from the time the filth came into the
streets. I did when the Latter-day
Saints traded one with another in
j their stores, and there was no liquor,
I no swearing or low conduct, but every
person meeting with and hailing his
| neighbor like a friend and brother j
but for twelve yeaaa not a man or
woman in this room has seen me walk
down through what I call " Whisky-
street/' My eyes do not wish to see
it. I never wish to hear another
oath, or to see another evil action
performed, for it is just as much as
the people can do to revolutionize
Vol XIV.
226
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES
their own feelings and to overcome the
evil within themselves without hav-
ing to come iu contact with the evils
of others.
I will say with regard to the
so-called Christian world, and the
moral reform of which they talk so
much, that they are an utter failure,
so far as stemming the tide of evil
among men is concerned j and if
this Gospel that Jesus has revealed
in the latter days does not do it, it
will not be done. But we say it
will be done. We shall continue
our course, praying the Father in
heaven to assist us in preaching the
principles of righteousness, and we
shall drive the wedge a little farther
and a little further, and by and by
the world will be overturned according
to the words of the prophet, and we
will see the reign of righteousness
enter in, and sin and iniquity will
have to walk off But the power and
principles of evil, if they can be called
principles, will never yield one par-
ticle to the righteous inarch of the
Savior, only as they are l>eaten back
inch by inch, and we have got to take
the ground by force. Yes, by the
mental force of faith, and by good
works, the march forth of the Gospel
will increase, spread, grow and pros-
per, until the nations of the earth will
feel that Jesus has the right to rule
King of nations as he does King of
Saints. We are in this work, and
we calculate to pursue it too ; and we
are not the least afraid. As I have
told my brethren and sisters a thou-
sand times, I have but one fear, and
that is that the Latter-day Saints
will not do just tight. There is no
fear in the life of the man or woman
who will serve God with all his
heart, keep His commandments, love
mercy, eschew evil and promote the
principles of right and righteousness
upon 4*e earth. Is this so? Yes,
and I bear testimony to it
I will turn again to the Latter-day
Saints and to the world, and will say
I would to God that the Latter-day
Saints would take the word of Brigham
Young to be law! I will defy the
inhabitants of the whole earth to tell
one word that he ever counseled that
was wrong ; or to point out a path
that he ever advised man or woman
to walk in but would lead to light,
life, glory, immortality, and to all
that is good or desirable by the in-
telligence that dwells upon the earth.
What do you say, is that boasting ?
If any person has a mind to call it
boasting, do so. It is righteousness
that we want, it is purity and holiness
that we are after. We are preaching
to the people far and near ; our Elders
are traveling through the earth j
Strangers are coming here, and we
are declaring to them that the Gospel
of the Son of God is true. Whether
thev believe or not, it is no matter.
That book (the Bible) contains the
words of the Almighty, and I wi!l
repeat a few of them, Jesus says,
m If ye love me, keep my command-
ments." What do you say, hearers,
is that correct ? I look at the
Christian world, and I say that the
Lord Almighty must set up His king-
dom, just as Daniel has said ; and all
the ordinances of that kingdom must
be observed by its inhabitants, or it
cannot go forth, be established and
bring in the reign of Christ on the
earth. The few words of Jesus which
1 have repeated, you can read for
yourselves. We had some read this
afternoon ; and we can turn over the
pages of the Bible and read for our-
selves ; but do not take one passage
and say, " That is mine, but I will
abandon all the rest, it is out of date."
No, sir, take the Bible just as it reads ;
j and if it be translated incorrectly, and
there is a scholar on the earth who
professes to be a Christian, and he
can translate it any better than King
OUR PRESENT LIFE, ETC
227
James's translators did it, he is under
obligation to do so, ov the curse is
npon him. If I understood Greek
and Hebrew as some may profess to
do, and I knew the Bible was not cor-
rectly translated, I should feel myself
bound by the law of justice to the
inhabitants of the earth to translate
that which is incorrect and give it
just as it was spoken anciently. Is
that proper? Yes, I would be under
obligation to do it Bat I think it is
translated just as correctly as the
scholars could get it, although it is
not correct in a great raany instances.
But it is no matter about that. Read
it and observe it and it will not hurt
any person in the world. If we are
not to believe the whole of the Bible,
let the man, whoever he may be,
among the professed Christians, who
thinks he knows, draw the line
between the trae and the false, so that
the whole sectarian world may be
able to take the right and leave the
wrong. Bat the man Christ Jesus,
who has revealed himself in the latter
days, says the Bible is true and the
people must believe it. Let us belie v©
it, and then obey it ; for Jesus says,
" If ye love me, keep my command-
ments," I do not know anything
aboat loving God and not keeping His
commandments. I do not know any-
thing about coming to Jesas only by
the law be has instituted. I do know
about that. I know of the bright
promises which he gave to his dis-
ciples anciently. I live in the pos-
session of them, and glory in them
and in the cross of Chriat, and in the
beauty and holiness that he has
revealed for the salvation and exalta-
tion of the children of men. I do
wish we would live to them, and may
the Lord help us.
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT BRIG HAM YOUNG,
At the Funeral Services of Miss Aurelia Spencer, in the 13th War
Assembly Rooms, Sept. 16, 1871.
(Reported by David W. Evans.)
OUR PRESENT LIFE — THE SPIRIT WORLD,
There has been considerable said,
and well said, with regard to our
existence, and I will say this: As
for the Gospel of the Son of God, it i
is here ; as for the Priesthood, it is
here ; as for the keys of Priesthood,
they are here and are enjoyed by this
people called Latter-day Saints. A
few words to my friends. To preach
or talk to the de^ I have never
undertaken to; I talk to the living
on such occasions as this. We are
i assembled this morning to pay our
last respects to the remains of a
beloved sister, and we meet here with
cheerfulness. It is not quite three
years since we met in this room to
pay oar respects to the remains of
228
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES
this young lady's father. She has
now gone to try the realities of
another existence — to another depart-
ment of the life and the lives that
God has bestowed upon His children.
This life is preparatory to a more
exalted state of existence. We have
a certain amount of intelligence here,
but in the life to come we shall have
more. We see the life and grow th of
the human family, and to those
ignorant of the object of our creation,
the process presents a very strange
phenomenon ; but to those who do
understand, it is rational, plain and
easy to be understood, and in iact
they see it is necessary that it should
be just as it is. You step into a room
and you perhaps see a mother attend-
ing a sick child of a few weeks or
months old; and helpless and totally
dependent upon others as the infant
is, it is no more so than we all have
been, for every member of the human
family passes through the same pro-
cess that we behold day after day in
our own houses and in the houses of
our neighbors. An infant, if sick,
cannot tell what ails it, cannot make
any signs whatever to tell what is the
matter or what remedy is necessary
in its case. But it grows, and as it
does so it increases in intelligence ;
it learns to talk and can say, " My
head aches/* "My eye pains me,"
" I have hurt my hand and it pains
me," " I want a drink of water," or
" I want something to eat," and it
goes on step by step, and thus we see
the growth and development of the
whole human family illustrated
through its various stages from in-
fancy to youth, iJknhood and old age,
until we finally drop back again to
mother earth, from whence we came,
it not remarkable ? We have all
travelled the same road to get here,
and we shall all travel the same road
to leave this department to get into
another one.
What are we here for ? To learn
to enjoy more, and to increase in
knowledge and in experience- We
behold the starry heavens, but we
know nothing of them comparatively.
We behold space, but cannot compre-
hend it We have an existence here
on the earth, but the generality of
mankind do not comprehend the
nature or object of it. We, the
Latter-day Saints, however, have a
little smattering of knowledge re-
specting the design of our Creator in
placing us here. It has been observed
that we are in ignorance, and so we
are with regard to many things, and
especially about the future. It is not
wisdom for us to understand the
future, unless upon certain principles.
Those principles are divine, and when
we understand the future and eternity
upon divine and holy principles, we
are satisfied with our own existence,
for we understand the object of it.
But take the human family, the great
mass of human beings who swarm in
creation, and convince them that their
state would be better when they step
from this to the next world, and let
them have no knowledge beyond this
and the crime of self-destruction,
which has been mentioned here to-day,
would be far more prevalent than it
is now, especially among the wicked.
How many there are who say, " I
wish I w as better off, for I am in a
sad condition !" Is this the case with
most of the human family ? It is,
and the majority say in their hearts,
if not with their tongues, " I wish I
was in different circumstances ; I am
poor, I am afflicted, I am sorrowful,
I am without friends and home, and
am here on the earth like a lost one
and know not what to do;" and
make them understand that their
condition would be so much better
when they pass the veil and many of
them would be guilty of self-destruc-
tion. The Lord has, therefore, wisely
OUR PRESENT LIFE, ECT,
229
hidden the future from our view.
The Latter-day Saints have some
knowledge respecting their future
lives and destiny; the Lord has re-
vealed this knowledge. We know
the design of our Father in heaven in
creating the earth and in peopling it,
and bringing forth the myriads of
organizations which dwell upon it
We know that all this is for His glory
—to swell the eternities that are
before Him with intelligent beings
who are capable of enjoying the
height of glory. Bat, before wo can
come in possession of this, we need
large experience, and its acquisition
is a slow process. Oar lives here are
for the purpose of acquiring this, and
the longer we live the greater it
should be. For instance, the ex-
perience of a person like our deceased
sister here, of twenty or twenty-one
years of age, although she knew a good
deal, is not equal to that of a person
of fifty, sixty, seventy or eighty ye irs
of age; but now she has stepped
through the door — the partition
separating this from the next state of
existence, she will continue to labor
just as much as she has done the last
year or the last five years. Nothing
remains here for us but to pay our
last respects to that which came fro in
mother earth. It was formed and
fashioned and the spirit was put into
it, and it has grown and become what
it is, and the spirit having departed,
the body lies ready to return to the
bosom of its mother, there to rest,
until the morning of the resurrection.
But the life and intelligence which
once dwelt in that body still luv,
an i Sister Aurelia moves, talks,
walks, enjoys and beholds that which
we cannot enjoy and behold while w^
are in these tabernacles of clay. She
is in glory; she has passed the ordeals
and has reached a position in which
the power of Satan has no iuilu-juce
upon her. The advantage of this
Priesthood that Brother George A.
Smith has been talking about is that
when persons yield obedience to it,
they secure to themselves* the sanction
of Him who is its author, and who
has bestowed it upon the children of
men. His power is around them and
defends them; and when they pass into
the spirit world they are out of the
reach of the power of Satan, and they
are not liable to be tempted, hunted,
and chased as the wicked are, although
the wicked may rest and enjoy far
more there than here ; but a person
who obeys the Priesthood of the Son
of God is entirely free from this*
Where the pure in heart are the
wicked cannot come. This is the
state of the spirit world,
I will say to Sister Spencer and
the relatives and friends of the de-
censed — Do not wish her back again*
I do not suppose you do ; and I will
say, further, that if you could talk
with her, and she with you, as you
could a short time since, you could
not prevail upon her to come back, if
she had the power to do so. You
might say to her, " You have not
finished your work, you might do a
great deal for your dead relatives,"
but her reply would be to this effect :
'* There are plenty on the earth, if
they will believe, to perform all the
ordinances necessary." 4i Well, but
you have not entered upon your
womanhood, and have not become a
mother in Israel/ 1 " No matter, I see,
understand, and know what is before
me, and the time will erne when,
in as ranch us I was faithful to the
Priesthood, I shal^fcssess and enjoy
all tit it I now seei^lo h wa biseu de-
prived ot by my death/' Tiiis is a
c >ns jlatiou, is it nob ?
I havj asked the people of the
world s j netines what wilt bjcjiua of
the infants who die. Takj the ni*ssdi
of the hiiin.m fanily, and I dj ujt
think that any rational persjna aju jj§6
230 JOURNAL OF
them will, for a moment, admit that
they will go to a place of punishment.
But whatever opi Dions may prevail
on this subject, the fact is they return
to the Father, as Jesus says, "Suffer
little children to come unto me, and
forbid them not, for of such is the
Kingdom of Heaven." Ye?, the
children must return to the Father:
they came from and were nursed
and cherished by Him and the
heavenly host, and when they are
called to pass the ordeal of death,
they go right back into His presence.
But what of the ungodly parents of
the tabernacles of these children,
will they have the privilege of going
there? No, where God and Christ
are they cannot come. Perhaps some
of them may have had an offer of the
Gospel and rejected it, then what
will become of the children ? They
swarm in the Courts of Heaven ;
there are myriads and myriads of
them there already, and more are
going continually. What are you
going to do with them ? Perhaps I
might say somebody will have the
privilege of saying to our young
sisters who have died in the faith,
" I design so many of these children
for you, and so many for you, and
they are given you by the law of
adoption, and they are yours just as
much as though you had borne them
on the earth, and your seed *h;dl
continue through them for ever and
ever." It may be thought by souie
that when young persons die they
will be cut short of the privileges
and blessings God designs for His
children ; but tftj* is not so. The
faithful will nel^ miss a blessing
through being cnt off while here.
And let me say to my brethren and
sisters, that it is not the design of
the Father that the earthly career of
any should terminate until they have
lived out their days ; and the reason
that so few do live out their days,
DISCOURSES.
is because of the force of sin in the
world and the power of death over
the human family. To these causes,
and not to the design of the Creator,
may be attributed the fact that disease
stalks abroad, laying low the aged,
middle-aged, youth, and infants, and
the human family generally by mil-
lions. Some think that not one-half
of those barn live to the age of twelve
years ; others think that one-half die
before reaching fifteen or seventeen
years ; but, be that as it may, it is
not the design of our Father in
heaven that it should be so. How-
ever, here we are, and we have to
meet with these obstacles, and if we
are not able to overcome them we
have to yield, and this is why we lose
our children, our yoking men and
women, and those near and dear to us.
Wc do not know what to do for the
siekf and if we send for a doctor he
does not know any more than any-
body else. No person knows what to
do for the sick without revelation.
Doctors, by their study of the science
of anatomy, and by their experience,
by feeling the pulse, and from oilier
circumstances may be able to judge
of many thiugs, but they do not
know the exact state of the stomach,
Aud again, the operations of disease
are alike on no two persons on the
face of the earth, any more than the
operations of the spirit of God are
aliue on any two persons. There is
as much variatiou in these respects afl
there is in the physiognomy of the
human family; hence, when disease
seizes our systems, we do not know
what to do, and death often over-
comes us, and we bury our friends*
This is hard for us, but what of it t
We will follow them, they will not
come back to us. The time will
come when they will come back, but
that will be when Jesus comes. We
shall he with them then ; but we shall
perhaps sleep in the dust long before
OCR PRESENT LIFE, ETC.
221
that time, that is, many of us* Per-
haps some in this house will live
until Jescs and the Saints come, but
I expect to sleep, I have no promise
of living until then. I can say with
regard to parting with our friends,
and going ourselves, that I have been
near enough to understand eternity so
that I have had to exercise a great
deal more faith to desire to live than
I ever exercised in my whole life to
live. The brightness and glory of
the next apartment is inexpressible.
It is not encumbered with this clog
of dirt we are carrying around here
so that when we advanoe in years we
have to be stubbing along and to be
careful lest we fall down. We see
our youth, even, frequently stubbing
their toes and falling down* But
yonder, how different! They move
with ease and like lightning* If we
want to visit Jerusalem, or this, that,
or the other place — and I presume we
will be permitted if we desire — there
we are, looking at its streets. If we
want to behold Jerusalem as it was
in the days of the Savior ; or if we
want to see the Garden of Eden as it
was when created, there we are, and
we see it as it existed spiritually, for
it was en s tel first spiritually and
then temporally, and spiritually it
still remains. And when there we
may behold the earth as at the dawn
of creation, or we may visit any city
we please that exists upon its surface.
If we wish to understand how they
are living here on these western
islands, or in China, we are there;
in fact, we are like the light of the
morning, or, I will not say the electric
fluid, but its operations on the wires,
God has revealed some little things
with regard to His movements and
power, and the operation and motion
of the lightning furnish a tine illus-
tration of the ability and power of
the Almighty* If you could stretch
a wire from this room around the
world until the two ends nearly met
here again, and were to apply *
battery to one end, if the electrical
conditions were perfect, the effect of
the touch would pass with such in-
conceivable velocity that it would be
felt at the other end of the wire at
the same moment. This is what the
faithful Saints are coming to; they
will possess this po^ver, and if they
wish to visit different planets, they
will be there* If the Lord wish to
visit His children here, He is here;
if He wish to send one of His
augels to the earth to speak to som^
of His children, he is here.
When we pass into the spirit world
we shall possess a measure of this
power; not to that degree that we
will when resurrected and brought
forth in the fullness of glory to inherit
the kingdoms prepared for us. The
power the faithful will possess the i
will far exceed that ot the spirit
world ; but that enjoyed in the spirit
world is so far beyond this life as to
be inconceivable without the Spirit of
revelation/] Here, we are continually
troubled with ills aud ailments of
various kinds, and our ears are saluted
with the expressions, 11 My head
aches," " My shoulders ache," u My
back aches," " I am hungry, dry, or
tired but in the spirit world we are
free from all this and enjoy life,
glory, and intelligence; and we have
the Father to speak to us, Jesus to
speak to us, and angels to speak to
us, and we shall enjoy the society of
the just and the pure who are in the
spirit world until the resurrection.
I will say to fiiMtK Spencer and t.i
the relatives an^^pends of the de-
ceased, Dry up J^ir tears, live your
religion; we have nothing to sorrow
for here without it is for siuful con-
duct. I say also to my young
brothers aud sisters, live your reli-
gion, and try to fill up the measure
of your creation in usefulness ; you
232
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES
have a work to do to prepare for a
moro exalted sphere than this. Out-
siders have a great deal to say about
the trials of oar females. Are the
trials of our females to compare with
the sorrows that the wicked world
have to pass through ? Not by any
means. Their sorrow and grief are
unto death. Oar trials are to make
us perfect and to prepare us for the
reward of the just. Is there a female^;
here that has had m glimpse of even
the glories of the next world. If
there is, she rejoices in the labor of
love in this world to do good and
prepare for her exaltation.
She does not know but she may be
there to-morrow morning We have
no lease to our lives. Who knows
but some one of us will meet with an
accident going from this house and
will be in eternity in half an hour
from this time ? This life is given
to prepare for the next. You will not
drop off there as here : you will stay
there, except those who are destroyed
by the second death. Well, then,
what is this world ? I am sorry to
see any one so enveloped in ignorance
as to see nothing else but the enjoy-
ment of this world, or to hear thepv
say, "Oh this is all that I can ask
for, I want my riches and finery that
I may enjoy the society of the rich
and gay, and I want to lavish upon
myself and family all that heart can
wish*" The whole wicked world is
in this condition of mind, no matter
who they are, from kings, queens, and
emperors on their thrones down to the
laborer in his humble cot ; but true
happiness is unknown amongst them*
They do not enjoy themselves, and
all their pleasures leave a pang or
sting behind. The rich and great
may pass a few hours in visiting their
friends, or they may glut themselves
with the luxury of the earth, but all this
leaves a sting behind. The humble,
faithful Saints care not for this. They
know this earth is not their permanent
abiding place* and when they look
forward to eternity, the prospect is
bright and glorious. " Yes, there is my
home, there is my family, there are my
friends, there is my heaven, there is my
Father, and I am going to dwell with
Him to all eternity/1 These are the
hopes and aspiration^ of every heart,
and the expression sjpf every faithful
Saint ; and they wifl learn more and
more and be exaltea from one degree
of glory to another until they become
Gods, even the sons of God. Then
what is this earth in its present con-
dition ? Nothing but a place in which
we may learn the first lesson towards
exaltation, and that is obedience to
the Gospel of the Son of God.
God bless you, my friends*
THE REDEMPTION OF THE EARTH, ETC
233
DISCOURSE BY ELDER ORSOX PRATT,
Delivered ix the New Tabebnacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday,
August 20, 1W\
[ (Reported by David W. Evan*.)
THE REDEMPTION OF THE EARTH — FRE-EXISTEXCE — MARRIAGE,
I will read a few sayings of oar
Savior, recorded hi the second and
third verses of the 14th chapter of
the Gospel according to St. John :
" In my Father's house are many man-
sions; if it were not so, I would have told
you, I go to prepare a place for you,"
4# And if I ^0 and prepare a place
for you, I will come again, and re*
ceive you unto myself; that where 1
am, there ye may be also."
It is not very customary for the
Latter-day Saints to select a text and
to confine their remarks to the subject
Batter thereof; yet I do not know
that there is auy particular harm in
doing so, provided we do not limit
the operations of the Spirit of God
upon ourselves. It is my most ear-
nest desire, when addressing a public
assembly, to understand the mind and
will of God in relation to what should
be said to them. Ko man, by his
own wisdom, understands the wants
of his fellow-creatures in all respects,
but the Spirit of the Most High
understands the circumstances of all
the people, and that spirit, having all '
power and wisdom, is capable of
moving upon the hearts of His ser-
vants to speak in the very moment
what is most adapted to the condition
of the people,
I listened with great interest this
forenoon to the many subjects which
ere briefly touched upon by Elders
Woodruff and Smith, one of which,
in a particular manner, seemed to rest
, with considerable bearing upon my
mind : that was the condition of mau-
I kind in a future state, and the prin-
cipalities, powers, glories, dominions,
and exaltations that will be enjoyed
by the trne Saints. This is a subject
ot special interest to the Latter-day
Saints, and we should look forward
with feelings of great joy in anticipa-
tion of the future, and we should
understand what is necessary for us
to do in this short life, to secure the
great blessings promised to the faith*
ful hereafter, Jesus, in the passage I
have read, has informed the world
that there are many mansions in his
Father's house* This, however, was
not spoken especially to the world,
but to the Apostles and Disciples who
were gathered around hiin. The
Father's house ! There is a great deal
comprehended in these words. Where
is it, and what kind of a house may
we conclude it to be? Are we to
understand by the term house, used
in this passage, small buildings such
us are erected for </fl| residence, here
on earth, and if ^Hwhat are we to
understand ? I Jf^rerstand that God
is a Being who, as the Scriptures de-
clare, inhabits eternity. Eternity is
His dwelling place, and in this eternity
are vast numbers of worlds — creations
formed by His tnighty hands; con-
26i
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES
seqnently when we speak of the
Father's house we are to understand
it in the Scriptural sense, in the idea
that is conveyed by many of the in-
spired writers, ft is declared in
many places that eternity is His
habitation. He is not the God of
one little world like ours; He is not
a Being who presides over a few
isolated worlds in one part of eternity,
and all the rest left to go at random ;
He is not confined to the worlds that
are made, comparatively speaking, to-
day; but all worlds, past, present,
and future, from eternity to eternity,
may be considered His dominions,
and His places of residence, and He
is omnipresent Not personally ; this
would be impossible, for a person can
only be in one place at the same
instant, whether he be an immortal
or a mortal personage ; whether he be
high, exalted, and filled with all
power, wisdom, glory, and greatness,
or poor, ignorant, and humble. So
far as the materials are concerned, a
personage can only occupy one place
at the same moment. That is a self-
evident truth, one that cannot be
controverted. W hen we speak, there-
fore, of God being omnipresent we
do not mean that His person is omni-
present, we mean that His wisdom,
power, glory, greatness, goodness,
and all the characteristics of His
eternal attributes are manifested and
spread abroad throughout all the
creations that He has made. He is
there by His influence — by His power
and wisdom — by His outstretched
arm; He, by His authority, occupies
the immeosity^^ space. But when
we come to BjHfcnrious personage,
that h;is a dwen^^nlace — a particu-
lar location ; but^ff ere this location
is, is not revealed. Suffice it to say
that God is not confined in His per-
sonal character to one location. He
goes and comes ; He visits the various
departments of His dominions, gives
them counsel and instruction, and
presides over them according to His
own will and pleasure.
But if eternity is His house, habi-
tation, or residence, what are the
mansions referred to by our Savior,
mentioned in the text? I under-
stand them to be places that the
Creator has constructed like this
present world of ours ; for this world,
in its future history and progress,
will no doubt become one of the
mansions of the Father, wherein His
glory will be made manifest as it is
in many other redeemed worlds. I
consider that this idea of mansions
has reference more especially to celes-
tial mansions, or worlds that have
been redeemed and made celestial.
God hns formed more worlds than
can possibly be enumerated or num-
bered by man. If it were possible
for man to count the particles of thia
little earth of ours; if he were able
to enumerate the figures that would
express these particles, it would
scarcely ben beginning to the number
of the mansions which God has made
in the eternal ages that have passed
— mansions that were made, first
temporal and afterwards redeemed and
made eternal. Mansions, no doubt,
constructed somewhat similar to the
one we now inhabit; and in the
* eternal progression of worlds they
rise upwards and still upwards until
they are glorified and are crowned
with the presence of Him who made
them, and become eternal in their
duration, the same as our earth will
eventually become. We know, ac-
cording to the declaration of the
Scriptures, that our earth was made
some few thousands years ago. How
long the progress of formation lasted
we do not know. It is called in the
Scriptures six days ; but we do not
know the meaning of the scriptural
term day. It evidently does not
mean such days as we are now ac-
THE REDEMPTION OF THE EARTH, ETC.
235
quainted with — days governed by
the rotation of the earth on its axis,
and by the shining of the great central
luminary of onr solar system. A day
of twenty- four hours is not the kind
of day referred to in the scriptural
account of the creation ; the word
days, in the Scriptures, seems often*
times tu refer to some indefinite period
of time* The Lord, in speaking to
Adam iu the garden, says, "In the
day that thou eatest thereof thou
shalt surely die;" yet he did not die
within twenty-four hours after he had
eaten tbe forbidden fruit, but he lived
to be almost a thousand years old,
from which we learn that the word
day, in this passage, had no reference
to days of the same duration as ours.
Again, it is written, in the second
chapter of Genesis, "In the day that
He created the heavens and the
earth not six days, but, "in the
day" that he did it, incorporating all
the six days into one, and calling that
period il the day" that. He created the
heavens and the earth.
When this world was formed, no
doubt, it was a very beautiful creation,
for God is not the author of anything
imperfect. If we have imperfections
in oar world God has had nothing to
do with their introduction or origin,
man has brought them upon himself
and upon the earth he inhabits. But
however long or short may have been
the period of the construction of this
earth, we find that some six thousand
years ago it seems to have been
formed, something after the fashion
and iu the manner in which it now
exists, with the exception of the im-
perfections, evils, and curses that
exist on the face of it Six thousand
years, according to the best idea that
we have of chronology, are now about
complete !; we are living almost on the
eve of the last of tbe six millenniums
— a thousand years are called a millen-
nium— and to-morrow, we may say,
will be the seventh; that is the seventh
period, the seventh age or seventh
time ; or we can call it a day — the
seventh day, the great day of rest
wherein our globe will rest from all
wickedness, when there will be no sin
or transgression upon the whole face
of it, the curses that have been brought
upon it being removed, and all things
being restored as they were before the
Fall. The earth will then become
beautified, not fully glorified, not fully
redeemed, but it will be sanctified, and
purified, and prepared for the reign of
our Savior, whose death and sufferings
we have this afternoon commemo-
rated. He will come and personally
reign upon it, as one of the mansions
of his Father ; and after tbe thousand
years have pass? I away, and wicked-
ness is permitted again, for a short
season, to corrupt the face of the
earth, then will come the final change
which our earth, or this mansion of onr
Father, will undergo. A change which
will be wrought, not by a flood of waters,
or baptism, as in the days of Noah,
cleansing it then from all its sins;
but by a baptism of fire and of the
Holy Ghost, which will sanctify and
purify the very elements themselves.
After the seventh millennium has
passed away the elements will be
cleansed, or in other words, they will
be resolved into their original condi-
tion— as they were before they were
brought together in the formation of
this globfc Hence John says, in the
2uth chapter of Revelation : " I saw
a great white throne and Him that
sat thereon, from before whose face
the heavens and theearth fled away,
and there was utiflfepce found for
Now, this fleeia^vY^y uf t he literal
heavens, and of the earth on which
we dwell with all it contains, will be
similar to the destruction or death of
our natural bodies, We might say,
with great propriety, when a man is
936
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
martyred or burned at the stake, his
body has fled away, its present orga-
nization is dissolved, and its elements
are resolved into their original con-
dit ion, and perhaps united with and
dispersed among many other elements
of our globe ; but in the resurrection
these elements are brought together
again ami the body reorganized, not
into a temporal or mortal tabernacle,
but into an eternal house or abiding
place for the spirit of man. So the
earth will pass away, and its elements
be dispersed in space; but, by the
power of that Almighty Creator who
organized it in the beginning, it will
be renewed, and those elements which
now enter into the composition of
our globe, will again enter into the
composition of the new heavens and
the new earth, for, says the Prophet
John, "I saw a new heaven and a
new earth, for the first heaven and
the first earth had fled away.** J
He then beheld two cities, as is re-
corded in the 21st chapter of Reve-
lation, descending from God out of
heaven. The first one is called the
New Jerusalem. The description of
thitt city is not given in this chapter ;
we have no information regarding its
size, or the number of its gates, and
the height of the walls ; all that we
know is that John saw it descend out
of heaven. Afterwards he was taken
off into a high mountain and saw a
second city descend out of heaven.
A description of this, called the
" Holy City," is given. The number
of the gates, the height of the walls,
the nature of the houses, the streets,
and the glory oftbe city are plainly
given in the ^Bfetion. But when
the first city, ^Whe New Jerusa-
lem, descended^|Mkard a voice say,
"Behold the tabSnacIe of God is
with men, henceforth there shall be
do more death, neither sorrow nor
crying, for the former things have
passsd away and all things are niade
new." This will be the final trans-
formation of this earth, and when
that is eflwted it will become one of
the mansions of our Father. It will ,
be redeemed, or, we might say resur-
rected after it passes away. That
renewed state will be eternal, it will
never be changed j and it will be the
eternal residence of those disciples
to whom Jesus was addreessing the
words of the text.
Where w ill Jesus be ? W hat i s t he
particular creation asssigned to him ?
I answer that our globe will become
the abiding place of all the Saints
from the days of Father Adam until 1
the time that it passes away and is
renewed again and becomes glorified,
after which the tabernacle of £iod
will be with men, and he will wipe
away all tears from their eyes, and
this creation from that time hence-
forth and for ever will be free from
sorrow; and from that period to all
the ages of eternity there will be no
more death, for death will be swal-
lowed up in victory. The curse that
came by the Fall wilt he entirely re-
moved, and God, Himself, will light
up the world with His glory, making
of it a body more brilliant than the
sun that shines in yonder heavens. '
Some raiy inquire, 11 Do^yon think
the sun is a glorified world ?" Yes,
in one sense. It is not yet fully
glorified, redeemed, clothed with celes-
tial power, and crowned with the
presence of the Father in all the
fullness and beauty of a celestial
mansion, because it is still subject to
change more or less. If it were fully
gloritied; if it had passed through its
temporal existence and had been re-
deemed, glorified, and made celestial,
and had become the eternal abiding
place of celestial and glorified beings,
it would be far more glorious than
our eyes could behold, the eyes of
mortality could not endure the light
thereof. We can endure and rejoice
*
THE REDEMPTION OF THE EARTH, ETC
237
in its present light and glory. It
gives light and . heat to the sur-
rounding worlds, and thus renders
them fit habitations for intelligent
human beings. But were it glorified,
as it will bo hereafter, and as our earth
will be, men s uch as we are, clothed with
mortality, would be overpowered, we
could not stand in the presence of its
glory without being consumed. This
earth, therefore, is destined to become
one of the heavenly mansions.
And now, with regard to its being
the place of the habitation of the
Saints for ever and ever, let me quote
some proofs in relation to it from the
Scriptures. Jesus, in his great and
beautiful sermon on the mount, has told
us of the blessings that should rest on
his people, among which he say«,
u Blessed are the meek, for they shall
inherit the earth." This certainly
could not have had reference to this
temporal existence, for look at the
meek who lived on the earth in the
first ages of Christianity. Did they
inherit the earth ? No. What was
their destiny ? To wander about in
sheep skins and goat skins, dwelling
in the dens and caves of the earth,
not being counted worthy by the
wicked to receive an inheritance with
them, yet Jesus said, "They shall
inherit the earth.** When ? If they
do not inherit it before death they
must after the resurrection. In proof
that they will inherit it after the
resurrection, let me refer you to the
testimony of John, recorded in the
fifth chapter of Revelation. John
saw a great company of Saints in the
presence of God the Father, and
except those who were resurrected at
the time of the resurrection of Christ
they were the spirits of men. They
were singing a beautiful song, the
purport of which was emigration.
They had it in view to emigrate from
their present home or location in the
celestial paradise to some other place,
and their song reads something like
this : " Thou art worthy to take the
book and to open the seals thereof,
for thou wast slain, and by thy blood
hast redeemed us from all nations and
kindreds and peoples and tongues, and
hast made us unto our God kings and
priests, and we shall reign on the
earth, s* This is the place of their
future residence, and they rejoiced
much in the anticipation of returning
to their mother earth, the place of
their nativity ; they rejoiced exceed-
ingly at thf prospect of getting back
again to their old homestead, They
were absent a little season because of
the wickedness that covered the
earth, they were absent a little season
because death overpowered their mor-
tal tabernacles. The Fall had brought
them down to the grave, but they
rejoiced that the grave would no
longer hold its captives. These
spit its from all nations, kindreds,
tongues, and peoples were rejoicing
in the great day when they should
receive their resurrected bodies and
return again to their old homestead —
the earth, to receive their kingdoms,
thrones, and dominions. " We shall
reign on the earth !" Not come to
be persecuted and driven about as the
meek always have been when the
wicked have had power; not coinetobe
scattered, peeled, and driven, as the
ancient Saints were ; not to be sawn
asunder, beheaded, persecuted, and
buffet ted, as the servants and Saints
of God have always been ; but they
will come here to reign : u Thou hast
made us kings and priests unto God,
and we shall reign qu the earth.7'
The period durina^^BUi they were
to reign, as mer^^^^Hn the 20th
chapter of Revel^^^^was one thou-
sand years, and ^BT was the intro-
duction to their eternal reign.
'* Blessed and holy is he who hath
part in the first resurrection,1' for on
such the second death can have no
238
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
P
power, and all such shall be priests io
God and to Christ, and they shall
reign with Him a thousand years.
In their song they did not stretch
forth to that eternal reign on the
earth which will commence after the
one thousand years have ended and
the earth has passed away and been
renewed. That was too glorious a
theme to be recorded by John and for
the inhabitants of the earth in their
corrupt and fallen state to become
acquainted with. If they rejoiced
with such exceeding great joy in the
prospect of returning to reign only
for a thousand years, before the earth
was fully redeemed, glorified, and
made new, how much greater would
be their joy, and how much more
glorious would be the song, if they
could see themselves made kings and
priests to God, and knew they were
about to commence a reign on the
earth which would endure throughout
the countless ages of eternity.
To prove that mankind, when they
come out of their graves, will come
into possession of the earth, let me
quote a very familiar passage from
the 37th chapter of Ezekial. Ezekial
lived in the midst of a people who
had apostatized in a great measure
from the religion of their fathers, and
who began to think that their hope
was lost, and that they were cut off
from inheriting the promises made to
their fathers, because they saw that
their fathers for many generations
were dead and gone, and neither they
nor their seed had come into posses-
sion of the Promised Land, according
to the prediction made in the days of
Abraham andM^^). You recollect
that the Lort^^^Med Abraham and
Jacob that th^J^Hld have the land
of Palestine foi^m everlasting pos-
session. Not only their seed, but
they themselves, Abraham and Jacob,
were to inherit it everlastingly. Well
might the Jews, when considering
these promises, and looking upon the
bones of Jacob and their old fore-
fathers, who were righteous men,
bleaching, as it were, in their sepnl-
chers, be ready to find fault and say :
" Our bones are dried, our hope is
lost, the promise is not fulfilled, and
we are cut off from our portion — that
is the promised land given to us for
an everlasting inheritance." The
Lord, to do away with such wicked
and erroneous notions which were
prevalent among the apostates of
Israel, carried Ezekiel into the midst
of a valley full of bones, and then
told him to prophesy unto those bones
and to say unto them: "O ye dry
bones, hear the word of the Lord.
Thussaith the Lord unto these bones :
Behold I will bring up flesh and
sinews upon you and will cover you
with skin,1' etc. And Ezekiel pro-
phesied as he was commanded, and as
he prophesied there was a great noise
and a shaking and the bones came
together, bone to its bone. And
while he was examining these nume-
rous skeletons, without either flesh,
sinews, or skin, " Lo, the sinews and
flesh came upon them and the skin
covered them above, but there was no
breath in them," Then the Lord
said unto the Prophet: Prophesy
unto the wind, son of man, and say
to the wind, thus saith the Lord God,
come from the four winds, 0 breath,
and breathe upon these slain that they
may live. So I prophesied as Ho
commanded me, and the breath came
into them and they lived and stood
upon their feet, an exceeding great
army."
Now, if we were to go to uninspired
men and ask them the meaning of
this, they would say it was the con-
version of sinners to newness of life ;
but the Lord had another interpreta-
tion, which you will find in the fol-
lowing verse : " Son of man, these
bones are the whole house of Israel,"
THE REDEMPTION OF THE EARTH, ETC
239
including the old patriarchs, including
tbeir forefathers for many generations.
The people in Ezekiel's day said,
" Oar bones and the bones of our
fathers are dry, and our hope is lost,
for we are not brought into the inhe-
ritance of the land of Palestine, etc.,"
but the Lord, by this parable of the
valley of dry bones, wkhed to do
away with this lack of faith among
Israel, and His interpretation of it was
this: u Behold, I will open your graves
and I will bring you up out of your
graves, and will bring you into the
land of Israel." Notice now, the
Lord did not say He would take them
off to some unknown region in the
immensity of space, according to the
notions of some of our modern poets,
who look forward to a heavenly place
beyond the bounds of time and space.
When a boy I used frequently to
attend the Methodist meetings,
though I never joined any religious
society ; but I recollect a very beau-
tiful hymn they used to sing about
being wafted away to a heaven of
some kind. I will repeat two or
three lines of the hymn :
*' Beyond tha bounds of time and apace,
Look forward to that heavenly place,
The Saints' secure abode/*
I did not, at that early period of
my life, see the inconsistency of this,
and being very much charmed with
the beautiful tunc, I thought, of
course, that the words were all right,
until I, in after years, reflected upon |
the subject, and began to understand
about the future residence of the
Saints* I then could not understand
the description of the heaven they »
sang about, I could not comprehend
how any place could be located out-
side the bounds of space, which is
illimitable, and has no bounds, con-
sequently I concluded that it was
merely the poet's flight, and that it
was not a scriptural doctrine, for
when I came to the Scriptures I
found that the heavenly place spoken
of by the ancient prophets that we
are to look forward to is in our land,
if we can find where that is. There
are a great many people, though, who
will not have any laud, for the Lord
never gave them any. A great many
generations have lived without se-
curing any land except by human
laws, that the Lord never had any-
thing particular to do with, and only
permitted for the good order of society.
But all human laws tnust perish when
the Lord comes, for then the world
will be governed by divine laws, and
blessed are the people who have
secured their landed estates from the
Great Creator, who owns the earth,
having created it by His own power,
and who can give it to whomsover
He will- He gave to the righteous
among the house of Israel the land
of Palestine and the regions round
about, and He says : " Behold I will
open your graves and bring you
into your own land, and you shall
know that I am the Lord." When
the Lord has i rought them out of
their graves and has placed them in
the land which He gave to their
fathers they will fully comprehend
that He will fulfil His promise* I
would like to dwell on this subject
further, and in doing so to refer you
to the 37th Psalm, and to many say-
ings of the Lord to Moses about in-
heriting the earth for ever, and so on;
but we will pass by that to some other
things that are on my mind*
We heard this forenoon that, when
the Saints come into the possession
of their everlasting inheritance and
are exalted as gl^fl^kand eternal
beings, to the in^^^^Bf their pos-
terity there woulfl m 'end. "No
end !" What doflBKt mean ? It
means that it will be eternal, — that
there never will be a period through-
out all the future ages of eternity,
but what they will be increasing
240
JOURNAL OP DISOOUBSES,
and multiplying, until their seed are
more numerous than the dust of the
earth or the stars of heaven. They
will multiply throughout all the ages
of eternity, and the earth will be
their head-quarters. There is another
principle connected with this, " What
is it/* inquires one? They will not
only people worlds, but they will
create them. There is room enough
to accomplish this when we consider
that space is boundless. There is no
end to the worlds that might be
formed, for the materials existing in
space from which to form them ape-
infinite in quantity, and consequently
can never be exhausted ; for that
which is infinite can, by no process
whatever, be exhausted, no matter
how many millions or myriads of
creations may be formed out of it ;
and, consequently, though millions
and millions, through their obser-
vance of the higher law that per-
tains to exaltation and glory, should
be counted worthy to receive this
earth as their everlasting inheritance;
and should these millions and millions
multiply their seed until they are as
the sands on the sea shore for multi-
tude, yet there is room in boundless
space for new creations and materials
enough for the creation of new worlds,
and for this innumerable offspring to
spread forth and people them. Cer-
tainly they could not all dwell here :
the earth would be overrun by them
after awhile, but this would be one
of the heavenly mansions, and their
head-quarters. And here comes in
another doctrine. This forenoon you
heard many of the principles and
doctrines touA|jfeiptm wherein this
people differ jj^^^Be outside world.
1 will now btf^^^Hl your attention
to one.
We believe that we are the children
of our parents in heaven, I do not
mean our tabernacles, but our spirits.
That being that dwells in my taber-
nacle, and those beings that dwell in
yours ; the beings who are intelligent
and possess, in embryo, all the attri-
butes of our Father in heaven ; the
beings that reside in these earthly
houses, they are the children of our
Father who is in heaven. He begat
tffe before the foundations of this earth
were laid and before the mornin gr
slars sang together or the sons of
(Jod shouted for joy when the corner
stones of the earth were laid, as is
* written in the sayings of the patriarch
s^ob. In the midst of all the patri-
arch's trials the question was put to
him : " Job, where wast thou when I
laid the comer stones of the earth,
when the morning stars sang toge-
ther for joy P Job did not pretend
to answer the question, but left it
for the Lord. But the question was
highly suggestive of a pre-existencef
and of the fact that Job existed
before Adam was placed in the Garden
of Eden. Not his body, but the
living being who inhabits the body,
who thinks and reasons, and moves
the body by his will, and that lives
when the body is mouldering in the
dust ; that being or those beings who
shouted together when the corner
stones of the earth were laid. Why
did they rejoice and shout together
for joy when the corner stones, or
rather, when the nucleus was formed
around which the materials of this
globe were gathered together ? Be-
cause, being intelligent, and knowing
the path that led to immortality and
exaltation, they saw a prospect before
them of walking therein. But the
point to which I wish to direct your
attention now is a fact of a pre-
existence, — a principle believed in by
this people, and which is new to them
and the world generally; but it is
not new, for it was taught in ancient
times, and is a scriptural doctrine,
Solomon says when the body is laid
down the spirit will return to God
THE REDEMPTION OF THE EARTH, ETC
241
who gave it. Now would there be
any sense in that doctrine if we had
never been there before? Could I say
I will return to China, when I have
never been to China. No, the word
u return71 would not correctly express
the idea. If the spirit returns to
God, it has been there before, and we
are only strangers here, having been
sent forth from our Father's house to
one of His mansions in its imperfect
state. What for ? To try us and
give us experience, to place us in a
school in which we may learn some
things that we never could have
learned if we had stayed at home,
where we were at the time this earth
was formed. By and by we will
return home again. There is some-
thing comforting in the anticipation
of returning home when we have been
away for a long time; but if we never
had been in heaven, in our Father's
bouse ; if we never had associated
with the heavenly throng and had
never beheld our Father's face we
could not realize the. feelings we
now realize when we reflect that we
are going back to where we once
dwelt. Happy thought, to think that
the memory, now clogged so that we
cannot pierce the veil and discern
what took place in our first estate,
will by and by be quickened again
and that we will wake up to the
reali ties of our past existence- When
a man goes to sleep at night he for-
gets the doings of the day. Some-
times a partial glimpse of thern will
disturb his slumbers; but sleep as a
general thing, and especially sound
skep,throwsoutof the memory every-
thing pertaining to the past; but
when we awake in the morn ins:, with
that wakefulness returns a vivid re-
collection of our past history and
doings. So it will be when we come
pp into the presence of our Father
and Clod in the mansion whence we
emigrated to this world. When we
No. 16,
; get there we will behold the face of
our Father, the face of our mother,
, for we were begotten there the same
as we are begotton by our fathers and
mothers here, and hence our spirits
are the children of God, legally and
: lawfully, in the same sense that we
are the children of our parents here
in this world We are so called in
the scriptures. It is written in the
epistle of James : i; Shall we not much
rat hep be in subjection to the father
, of our spirits :T' Again, we read that
! Jesus was with the Father from be-
fore the foundation of the world ; and
in his last prayer he prayed that he
might be restored to that glory which
be had with the Father before the
world was.
LNow, who is Jesus ? He is only
our brother, but happens to be the
firstborn. What, the firstborn in the
flesh ? O no, there were millions and
millions born in the flesh before ha
was. Then how is he the firstborn ?
Because he is the eldest — the first
one born of the whole family of spirits
and therefore he is our elder brother.
But why these spirits came to inherit
mortal tabernacles is a question
worthy of consideration. This world
is full of sin, sorrow, affliction, and
death, and mankind sec nothing, as
it were, but mourning and sorrow,
from their birth until they go down
to the grave; then why send these
heavenly spirits to dwell in mortal
tabernacles, corrupt, fallen, and de-
graded as we are in th is world ? It
is to learn, as I have already said,
certain lessons that we never could
learn up in yonder mansions. Learn
to understand by experience many
things pertaining to the flesh that we
never could learfc there, that when we
should be redeemed by the blood and
! atonement of our elder brother, the
firstborn of every creature, and brought
back into the mansions whence we
emigrated we might appreciate that
Vol. XIV.
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
redemption, and understand and com-
prehend it by experience and not by
precept alone. We might bring up
many arguments with regard to ex-
perimental knowledge. Who that is
born blind can know by experience,
or in any other way, the nature of
light ? No one. You might tell the
blind man, who never saw the first
glimmer of light about its beauties,
yon might speak of its various hues
and colors, and of the benefit of
being able to see, but what could you
make birn understand ? lie would
not know light from anything else,
and when you bad talked to him for
a hundred years about the beauty of
light, he would not have a compre-
hension of it. Why ? For the want
of experience; he must experience
the sense of sight or be cannot under-
stand its worth. When his eyes are
opened and the light beams forth upon
the optic nerve it creates a new expe-
rience, by calling into piny a new
sense, and he learns something he did
not before comprehend. He could
not learn it by being taught So
in regard to coming from yonder
heavenly creations to this world. We
learn by our experience many lessons
we never could have learned except
we were tabernacled in the flesh.
But another and still greater object
the Lord had in view in sending us
down from yonder world to this is,
that we might be redeemed in due
time, by keeping the celestial law,
and have our tabernacles restored to
us in all the beauty of immortality.
Then we will be able to multiply and
extend forth our posterity and the in- I
crease of our dominion without end. ;
Can spirits do this? No, they re-
main single. There are no marriages
among spirits, no coupling together
of the males and females among them;
but when they rise from the grave,
after being tabernacled in mortal
bodies, they have all the functions
that are necessary to people worlds.
As our Father and God begat us^
sons and daughters, so will we rise
immortal, males and females, and
beget children, and, in our turn, ■onn
and create worlds, and send forth our
spirit children to inherit those worlds,
the same as we were sent here, and
tli us will the works of God continue,
and not only God himself, and His
Son Jesus Christ have the power of
endless lives, but all of His redeemed
offspring* They grow up like the
parents; that is a law of nature so
far as this world is concerned. Every
kind of being begets its own like,
and when fully matured and grown
up the offspring become like the
parent, So fho offspring of the
Almighty, who begot us, will grow
up and become literally Gods, or the
sons of God, Here is another doc-
trine wherein we differ from the
world, perhaps not so much differ
either, tor they do sometimes believe
in that passage of scripture which
speaks of Gods. " If they call them
Gods unto whom the word of God
comes," says Jesus, or words to that
effect, " why then do you find fault
with me because I make myself the
Son of God ?" If those prophets and
inspired men, such as Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Samuel, and
others to whom the word of God
came were Gods in embryo why do
you find fault with the only begotten
of the Father, so far as the flesh is
concerned, because he makes himself
the Son of God ? We, then, shall
become Gods, or the sons of God,
This puts me in mind of a certain
vision that John the Kevelator had
on the Isle of Patmos. On that occa-
sion he saw one hundred aud forty-
four thousand standing upon Mount
Zion, singing a new and glorious
song j the singers seemed to be among
the most happy and glorious of those
who were shown to John. They, the
■
THE REDEMPTION OF THE EARTH, ETC.
213
one hum! red and forty- fonr thousand,
had a peculiar inscription in their
foreheads, What was it? It was
the Father's name. What is the
Fathers nam* : It is God — the being
we worship. If, then, the one hun-
dred and forty-four thousand are to
have the name of God inscribed on
their foreheads, will it be simply a
plaything, a something that has no
meaning? or will it mean that which
the inscriptions specify? — that they
are indeed God> — one with the Father
and one with the Son ; as the Father
and Son are one, and both of them
called Gods, so will all His children
be one with the Father and the S..*n,
and they will be one so far ascarrying
out the great purposes of Jehovah is
concerned. No d i visions will be there,
but a complete oneness; not a one-
ness in person but a perfect oneness
in action in the creation, redemption,
and glorification of worlds.
I thought I would make a few re-
marks on these subjects, inasmuch as
they were broached this morning*
You begin to understand, stranger?,
what the Latter-day Saints' views are
in regard to the multiplication of the
human species to all ages of eternity.
Yon begin to understand what is
meant by that passage in the New
Testament in the writings of Paul,
that the man is not without tho
woman in the Lord, neither is the
woman without the man. You will
find it in the eleventh verse of the
eleventh chapter of Paul's First
Epistle to the Corinthians. Here is
a mystery which the whole religious
world perhaps have not understood.
They suppose that old maids and
bachelors are just as honorable in
the sight of God as though they were
married. It is not. so according to
the words of Paul. If a man be in
the Lord he must not be without the
woman and the woman must not be
without the roan. Why ? Because
there is an eternal union to exist in
the marriage covenant between the
male and female to carry out and
fulfil those great purposes of which I
have been speaking — namely, the
peopling of the mansions of our Father
in the future. And those mansions
will multiply to all eternity ; there
will be no end to tho increase of
worlds, and no end to the inhabitants
of those worlds; and the father of the
spirits who go forth, take tabernacles,
and are redeemed, will be king over
his own sons and daughters in the
eternal worlds, through all the ages
of eternity. He will not go and rob
his neighbor of his children to set up
a kingdom of his own. He tjiusfc
have a woman in the L-jrd, and' the
woman must have a man in the Lord
if they ever carry out the great and
eternal purposes of which I have been
speaking,
Much might be said in this connec-
tion with regard to the doctrine of plu-
rality of wives. There is a difference
between the male and the female so far
as posterity is concerned. The female
is so capacitated that she can only be
the mother of a very limited number
of children. Is man thus capacitated ?
Was not Jacob the patriarch of old
capable of raising posterity by all
his wives? He certainly was; and
were not many of the ancient prophets
and inspired men capable of raising
twenty, forty, fifty, or a hundred
children, while the females could only
rai.se a very limited number on an
average. In the resurrection, when
the four wives of Jacob come out of
their graves, will he divorce three of
them and only keep one ? or will they
all multiply and spread forth their
dominions under the old patriarch
while eternal ages shall last ? and
would a monogamist have power to
till a world with spirits sooner than a
polygamist ? Which would accom*
plish the peopling of a world quickest,
244
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
provided that we admit this eternal
increase, and the eternal relationship
of husband and wifij — after the resur-
rection as well as in this world ? In
that state they do not marry nor give
in marriage. Why ? Because mar-
riage is an ordinance that has to be
attended to here, and unless it is se-
cured in this li!e for eternity it cannot
be secured in the resurrection, for they
neither marry nor are given in mar-
riage there. They do not baptize
after the resurrection, they do not
confirm and administer the ordinances
pertaining to this life after the resur-
rection. All these things have to be
attended to here, then we have a
claim to the blessings here and here-
after. If a man would obtain au
eternal increase and eternal kingdoms
without number for his posterity to
inhabit, under the direction and con-
trol of Him who is King of kings
and Lord of lords, he must secure
the right to these blessings in this
life. When Adam and Kve were
married they were married for eter-
nity, from the very fact that they
were united together before they fell,
before death entered into the world.
Death was not considered in the mar-
riage covenant. The 6rst example of
marriage on record was between two
immortal beings — two beings who
would have lived until now if they
had not sinned, and the end of that
marriage covenant would never have
come ; but notwithstanding this,
throughout the whole Christian
world, when the marriage ceremony
is performed the minister stands up
and says : " I pronounce you husband
and wifb until death does you sepa-
rate when death separates you the
marriage covenant is at an end. Can
they live together after the resurrec-
tion by virtue of these covenants
made by uninspired men? No.
Why ? Because they were only mar-
ried for a certain definite period, and
-!
that was until death, when that comes
the time is run out* The covenant
is no longer binding. It is not legal
in the sight of heaven for eternity.
But when a man is united to a woman
by virtue of that priesthood which
has power to seal on the earth and it
is sealed in heaven, their marriage
covenant is not dissolved, but it will
stand and be good and lawful as long
as eternity endures, just like the
covenant entered into by our first
parents. Perhaps you may think that
Brother Pratt is ml her enthusiastic?
and fauatical in his ideas to suppose
that immortal beings can multiply ;
but I would ask any person who has'1
read the first and second chapters of
Genesis if the command which was
first given to multiply was not given
to two immortal beings who had not
yet fallen ? If, therefore, two im-
mortal beings, were then commanded
to multiply, why should it be thought
incredible that immortal beings who
are raised from the grave and restored
to all that which Adam and his wife
possessed before the Fall, should have
the power to do the same ?
Then again, it oftentimes happens
that a moiiugamist, or the man with
but one wife, loses that wife ; and by
the Scriptures he is permitted to marry
again. If he loses a second wife it is
lawful for him to marry a third wife,
and so on. Now if we admit the
eternal covenant of marriage between
the first pair — two immortal beings,
and. that they were commanded to
multiply, then, if the same ordfcr of
marriage is to be continued, and we
become immortal, and all the man's
three wives who have died in succes-
sion come up out of , the grave, must
he divorce all but one, or will he have
them all ? And if he must divorce*
any, which must he divorce, and
which must he claim? Does not
everything that is consistent and rea-
sonable, and everything that agrees
THE ITNCIIAXGEABLEXESS OF THE GOSPEL,
with the Bible show that plurality of
wires mast exist after the resurrec-
tion ? It does, or else there will bea
breaking up of the marriage covenant)
I do not know but I ought to apolo-
-r4$
gize for detaining yon so long ; but
the subject is interesting to niy own
mind and I trust it has been inte-
resting to the hearers.
DISCOURSE BY ELDER JOHN TAYLOR,
Delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday,
October 8, 1873.
(Reported by David W. Evans.)
THE UNCHANGEABLENESS OF THE GOSPEL — THE TRIUMPH OF TRUTH.
We fire met here in a conference
capacity, and have assembled osten-
sibly, and in reality, to confer together
about the general interests of the
church and kingdom of God upon the
earth. The authorities from the dis-
tant settlements are here to represent
themselves and their people, and a
great many are here from the sur-
rounding settlements to listen to the
teachings that may be given, to the
business that may be transacted, to
the doctrines that may he promul-
gated, and in general to make them-
selves acquainted with the spirit of
the Limes, with the obligations that
devolve upon them ; and the various
responsibilities that rest upon all
parties.
We meet, then, as I have said, to
consult on the general interests of the
the church and kingdom of God
upon the earth, and not upon our
own peculiar ideas and notions, to
carry out any particular favorite theme
or to establish any special dogma of
our own devising; nor do we meet
here to combine against men ; but to
seek, by all reasonable and proper
means, through the interposition and
guidance of the Almighty, and under
the influence of His Holy Spirit, to
adopt such means and to carry out
such measures as will most conduce to
our individual happiness; the happi-
ness of the community with which we
are associated ; to the establishment
of correct principles; to the building
up of our faith, and«strengthemng us
in the principles of eternal truth; to
our advancement and progress in the
ways of life and salvation, and to de-
vise such measures and carry out such
plans as will best accord with the
position and relationship we occupy to
God, to the world we live in, and to
each other.
So far as the principles of truth are
concerned they are like the Author of
truth — " the same yesterday, to-day,
and for ever.1' No change lias taken
place in the programme of the Al-
mighty in regard to His relationship
with men, the duties and responsi-
bilities that devolve upon men in
general, or upon us, as the elders of
Israel and representatives of God
upon the earth. Years ago, when we
listened to the glad tidings which had
been again revealed to man, by the
opening of the heavens and hy the
revelations of God, we rejoiced in the
great principles of truth that were
then divulged. The gospel that we
then obeyed brought peace to our
bosoms ; for it enlightened the eyes of
our understandings and gave us a
knowledge of our standing with and
relation to the Almighty; made us
acquainted with the position we
occupy in relation to the living and
the dead ; opened up a way whereby
we might pour blessings on the latter,
and, as ancient patriarchs and servants
if God did, by which we could confer
blessings on unborn generations. That
gospel unfolded unto us some of those
glorious principles associated with the
present position and future destiny of
man. The work in which we are
engaged is like the Great Jehovah —
eternal and unchangeable. It ema-
nated from God, and was imparled
to man by revelation. By obedience
to that gospel we received the Holy
Ghost, which partook of the things
of God and showed them unto us.
That spirit imparted light, truth, and
intelligence, which have continued to
be manifested to the church of the
living God and to nil w ho are faithful
in that church up to the present time.
Men have their ideas and theories
and notions, their views of morality,
politics, science, and philosophy ; we
have our ideas in relation to God, to
angels, to eternity and to our respon-
sibility to God and to the world ; and
acting upon that faith we go forth in
the name of Israel's God to accom-
plish that destiny which God has
placed in our hands, God has de-
creed certain things with regard to
the earth and the people who live on
it. He has revealed unto II is ser-
vants, the prophets, certain thii?gs
that should transpire in connection
with the world and its inhabitants,
nnd we are left no longer to the wild
chaos of fleeting thought that exists
everywhere in the world ; for God
has phiced us under 11 is inspiration,
given unto us a knowledge of His law,
revealed unto us His purposes, drawn
hack the curtain that intervenes be-
tween man and his heavenly Father,
and divulged unto us His will, lift*
signs, and purposes concerning us.
We know for ourselves of the truth
of those principles that God has
revealed, and if in former days Paul
could say, 41 Ye are our witnesses, as
also is the Holy. Ghost who bears
witness unto us," it can he snid more
emphatically of this day. This as-
sembly now before me have received
the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Holy
Ghost accompanying that gospel;,
and every man arid woman present
who lias lived the relic ion of Jesus
Christ has the witness of the truth of
the work they have obeyed, and they
are ready with one acclaim to pro-
nounce : " We are His witnesses, as is
also the Holy Ghost which hears wit-
ness unto us/1 Yuu, rny brethren
and sisters, know of the truths of that*
gtfspel which you have received, and
you are not indebted for that know-
ledge to any organization that exists
under the face of the heavens, other
than the one you are now associated
with. No philosophy, no religious
combination, no school, no doctors of
divinity, no priesthood of any order
revealed unto you the principles
which you are in possession of. The
gospel that you received, you received
" not of man nor hy man, but through
the influence of the Spirit of God and
the power of the holy priesthood that
administered it" This you know
now, and this you then knew. It is
no wild phantom, no idle theory, no
notion propagated by man ; but it is
the word of eternal life, the rerela-
■
THE UNC HANG EABLEN ESS OF THE GOSPEL, ETC,
247
tions of God, the gospel of Jesus
Christ, the principles of eternal truth,
which you have received, Irom the
God of truth, through the medium of
that priesthood which He has orga-
nizer! on the earth ; and this you know,
realize, and understand for yourselves,
You understood it years ago, and you
understand it to-day. It is the same
gospel, the same priesthood, the
same principles of truth ; it imparts
the same hope, fills the bosom with
the same joy, disperses that uncer-
tainty and doubt that dwell in the
bosoms of unbelievers, and opens to
the view of the believer visions of
** glory, honor, immortality and eter-
nal lives/5 And there is nothing in
this world that cm change these feel-
ings— no vain philosophy, no political
influence, no combinations of any kind
that can root out of the mind these
principles of eternal truth winch are
inspired and implanted there by the
spirit of the living God, They are
written on the tablets of the heart in
characters of living fire, and they will
burn and extend while time exists or
eternity endures. So far then we
feel comforted and blessed. If others
are satisfied with their views, all
right. If a man wants to be a Metho-
dist, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic,
Shaker, or Quaker, all right, he can
be what he pleases ; but let me have
my religion. Let me have principles
that will draw aside the curtain of
futurity and introduce me to those
scenes that exist behind the veil.
Let me, as an immortal being, know
my destiny pertaining to time and
eternity, and the destiny of my
brethren and friends, and ot the earth
that I live upon; let me have a reli-
gion that will lead me to God, and
others may take what they please, it
is i in material to me, I have no
quarrel with them. They can have
their own ideas and carry out . their
own views, so far a3 I am concerned,
untrammelled, if they will let me have
mine. Let me be surrounded with
the panoply ot truth, let me have the
favor of Jehovah, let me associate
with angels and the heavens, and
eternity be opened to my view, and
be placed in such a relationship with
God that He can communicate His
will to rne, and I ask no more of this
world, I have no complaint to make
about anybody, I don't even com-
plain of the devil. I know that he
was sent here for a certain purpose —
to carry out the purposes of God, and
God did not even banish him His
presence when the suns of God met
together, for the devil was also among
them, and we need not be surprised
at anything of that kind now. When
the Lord asked him where he came
from, said he, " I came from wander-
ing to and fro in the earth." What
did he do in the earth V Not much
good, and, I presume, all the evil he
could. And I presume it was abso-
lutely necessary that there should be
devils, or there would not have been
any.
Years and years ago, I preached
abroad among the nations of the earth,
and I see around me here many of
my brethren, the elders, whose heads
are now as grey as mine, who did the
same. We preached to many of yon
who are here, and told you that the
world would wax worse and worse,
deceiving and being deceived. Did
we not preach this doctrine ¥ I think
we did, ten, twenty, thirty, and forty
yoars ago. We told you t hen that in
consequence of the wickedness that
would exist npon the earth, thrones
would bo cast down, empires be de-
mo m 1 1 se d , an d 1 1 1 a t wars a n d bloodsh ed
would exist upon the face of the earth,
and that God would arise and vex
the nations and bring them to judg-
ment, because of their iniquities. Is
it anything astonishing that these
words should be fulfilled ? Why,
218
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES*
they are the words of troth ! They
were spoken by the spirit of revela-
tion, and were in accordance with the
revelations given to ancient men of
God, who spoke as they were moved
upon by the Holy Ghost, and who,
while rapt xn prophetic vision, saw
and foretold what should t ranspire on
the earth, God revealed the same
things to us that He did to them.
And what other doctrines did you
hear the elders proclaim, my friends P
You heard them proclaim, "Come
out of her, my people." Why P
"That you partake not of her sins
and receive not of her plagues."
Didn't you hear that ? I think you
did* Did yon hear that her sins had
reached up to heaven, and that God
would remember her iniquities ? Yes,
you did. Do you believe it to-day ?
Yes: yon believe just the same prin-
ciples now that you believed then.
Your ideas and views, feelings and
theories in these respects have not
advanced, as people tell us sometimes,
with the intelligence of the age. God
save me from such intelligence, the
Lord deliver me from their infidelity,
corruption, and iniquity, social, moral,
political, and of every kind you can
mention ; and the Lord God deliver
this people from it, I don't want it.
I want to know God and the princi-
ples of tru t h . I want, as an i m mortal
being to understand something of my
relationship with the other world. I
want to know how to save the living
and to redeem the dead, and to stand
as a savior on Mount Zion, and to
bring to pass the purposes of Jehovah
in relation to this people and the
earth whereon we live. That is what
I want to know ; that is the kind of
intelligence I am after. Then, if
there is anything else that we have
not got, tljat is good, virtuous, holy,
pure, or intellectual, give it to us,
and we will embrace it; but we don't
want your corruption a, debaucheries,
and crimes, which everywhere prevail,
and which are a stench in the nos-
trils of God, angels, and ail good men ;
and I would make a prayer here
which I used to hear ver}T often when
I was an Episcopalian : " From all
such things, good Lord deliver us."
We want truth, purity, integrity, and
honesty ; we want men who live so
that they dare face any man, or, even
God himself ; and to reach this stand-
ard is what we are after, and it is our
constant aim a! id desire. I was very
much pleased with a song I heard
sung 3Testerday. I don't know that I
can i erne ruber it, but it was some-
thing like this :
" Hurrah, hurrah, for the mountain brave,
No trembling serf is he ;
Xor varthj n*>v hell can liiin enslave —
The Gods have stit him free.*1
There is nothing faltering in the
knees of a man of God, you c&n*t
make him quail, God is his friend,
and angels and all good men are his
friends. He is living for time and
eternity, and all is right with him,
living or dying.
Well, but don't you think some
folks are very bad ? I always
thought so; my mind is not changed
about thnt a particle. Well, but
don't you think the folks don't treat
us very well sometimes ? I never
knew the time they did ; I never
expect to be well treated by them. I
never knew nor read of any men of
God that were well treated by the
people of the world, and if we were
I should not think we were men
of God at all. ^hy men who
feared God anciently were generally
the most unpopular of men, iUey were
considered a kind of fools, or half
crazy, or something the matter with
them. The enlightened pagans of
former days did not like either the
religion or the God of the Hebrews.
They thought them a shame and a
disgrace, and that Baal and their
THE UKCHAXGEABLENESS OF THE GOSPEL, ETC,
249
gods were much better. Men of
God, in old times, we are told, had
to wander about in sheepskins and
goatskins, and to dwell in deserts and
in dens and caves of the earth. " They
must have been very wicked people
in those days," say you ; and they
were, and so they are to-day* There
is not much difference, only I think
we are a little better situated, for we
have our good houses and farms and
an extensive territory. We live under
our own vine and figtree, and none
can make us afraid. They think they
can, but they make a mistake ; there
is no trembling of the kuees here.
Fear does not dwell here, and if it
did a little more of the principles of
that gospel you have received would
dispel it. I remember a kind of
shaky- kneed fellow in old times, and
they were in rather a critical position.
There was some Gentiles holding
court there. Oh no, it was not that,
I forgot: it was another affiir, an
army was surrounding them, hvcuse
*me for making the mistake! There
was an old prophet there, rather a
rough sort of a fellow, and very un-
popular. His servant was a rather
shaky-kneed sort of chap, was in a
tremble, and wanted to know what
was going to be done, "Why," says
the prophet, "They are more who
are for us than those who can be
against us." The servant didn't
understand this exactly, and the
prophet prayed that he might get a
little more religion. Said he, " O
God, open the young man's eyes,"
and the Lord did so, and as soon as
his eyt s were opened he saw thousands
of the heavenly hosts surrounding
him, and said he, u The chariots of
Israel and the horsemen thereof."
That inspired him with confidence,
and did away with that trembling in
the knees. Now if any of you should
have had a little trembling- of that
kind, go to your God, seek for the
spirit of revelation that flows from
Him; get hold of the light and in-
telligence which the Holy Ghost
imparts, and you will cry, *' Hosanna,
hosanna, hosanna to the God of
Israel, for He rules and will rule
until He has put all enemies un-
der His feet," you will cry out,
" Ziun shall arise and shine, and the
glory of God shall rest upon her P*
You will cry aloud, " The principles
of eternal truth will triumph, not all
the powers of earth and hell can stay
their progress, for Zion is on word,
onward, onward, until the kingdoms
of this world shall become the king-
doms of our God and His Christ,
and He will rule for ever and ever !"
If there is anything the matter with
any of you, I don't think there is
much ; but if there is, get a little more
religion ; live yonr religion, seek for
the spirit of revelation, which has led
you on to the present time. If you
cling to that it will lead you to the
portals of eternal life. Talk about
the Saints of God quailing, pshaw !
The work of God is onward, the
kingdom of God is forward, and all
that I have to say is, get out of the
way, for the chariots ot Israel are ad-
vancing, the purposes of God are
being unfolded, the work of God will
roll forth, and woe to that man who
lifts his puny arm against it.
But I am not strong in body, rather
feeble in health, and I do not feel that
my bodily strength is sufficient to talk
much longer to this large assembly.
I have heard men say they know this
is the truth ; so do I. 1 know that
God has spoken. If nobody else
knows on the earth besides, 1 know
that the truths of God have been re-
vealed; I know that the gospel has
been restored ; I know that this people
will continue to cleave to the truth,
that the kingdom of God will pro-
giess, and that by and by we will
shout victory ! victory ! victory ! now
250
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
an;! for ever, worlds without end.
May God bless Israel an J all who
bless Israel, and let the curse of God
rest upon lier enemies, in the name
of Jesus. Amen.
REMARKS BIT ELDER JO FIX TAYLOR,
Delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday
October 22, 137L
(Reported ly David W* Evans.)
REVELATION — PERSECUTION — HIS TESTIMONY AND FEELINGS.
It is very pleasant for the Saints of
God to reflect upon the principles of
eternal truth, that have been developed
unto them. If there is anything con-
nected with happiness and humanity,
if their is anvthin" calculated to ex-
pand tlie views and feelings of the
human family, to raise our hones and
aspip^kms. and to give peace, joy, and
confidence i it is the thought that God
has revealed unto us the precepts of
eternal truth ; that Ho has planted
them within our bosoms and given
unto us a certainty in regard to those
things we profess to believe in, and
assuredlvdo know.
Standing, as we do, before our
Heavenly Father, in possession of the
principles of eternal life ; having had
a knowledge of them unfolded unto us
by the revelations of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and as mortal and immortal
beings, knowing for a certainty the
th ings which God has revealed, for
the salvation of the human family, we
feel confident, joyous, happy, and con-
tented, and our souls rejoice in the
fullness of the blessings of that gospel,
of which the world, generally, at the
present time are so ignorant. Men
generally, although very particular
about financial matters, and things
pertaining to time; although very
careful about the acquisition of wealth
and desirous of knowing which is the
best way to invest it after they have
obtained it; although desirous^ to
obtain honor and fame and wealth;
yet in regard to religious matters it
seems that they are perfectly willing
that anybody should think for them
and act for them, and be their dicta-
tors and guides ; and hence they have
a hireling priesthood whom they pay
to takecareof their souls, junt as they
pay physicians to take care of their
bodies, and lawyers to take care of
their property. Religion is not a
thing, according to the estimation of
a great- many, that everybody ought
to be dabbling with : it belongs to the
priests, teachers, etc., who are paid
tor teaching their dogmas, theories,
creeds, and opinions, I was brought
up a member of the Church of Eng-
land, the same as my friend, the
speaker who preceded me. It is cus-
tomary among the Episcopalians to
■
REVELATION, ETC.
251
prepare men for the ministry just the
sanie^asJiiey prepare men fVir doctors,
lawyers, or the military profession*
In examining their boys to find for
what they are the best capacitated, if
one is pretty shrewd, he must be a
lawyer; if one is full of fire and
energy, they try to make a military
officer of him; but those who are
dull, dumpish, and ignorant are gene-
rally made parsons of These are
they who are teachers of religion,
and who the great mass of men are
ready to follow ; and as the scriptures
say, when u the blind lead the blind
they both fall into the ditch."
J speak of these things to show the
position of the world generally in
regard to religion — that which atfects
their interests for eternitv. Men are
sometimes a little careful in the or-
ganization of governments, and in the
passage of laws for the protection of
their rights ; statesmen, scientists,
philosophers, and men of intelligence
arc brought into requisition, to expand
the general judgment about matters
wherein individual rights or the
rights of a community are concerned ;
and in fact, in relation to affairs of a
temporal or worldly nature, men are
generally careful; bat on religious
matters it is very different.
What are we to think of the reli-
gious standard or statutes of the
Christian world to-day ? Professing
to believe in the Bible, who really
believes in or cares for the principles
which it advocates? Who has the
hardihood to be governed by the laws
which it promulgates ? Why, I
could refer you to judges to-day, and
Christian judges at that, professing to
believe the Bible, who would make
men guilty and arraign them before
their bars for believing the principles
contained in that very book. This is
the height of intelligence, the summit
of nil excellence, and the glory of our
judiciary to-day ! And look at our
religionists — they are fools, and don't
know what they are doing, the posi-
tion they are placing themselves in, or
the ruin they are hurling upon the
nation with which they are associated.
They do not know that by the intro-
duction of false principles, those prin-
ciples will spread, and permeate, and
will roll back again on their own
heads, producing misery, confusion,
and bloodshed wherever they go.
They do not know this, they have not
sense enough to see it — ihry are
poor, miserable* blind fools*
And what do they know about God
and eternity? Nothing. They deny
the very principles -that would bring
men into communication with the
Almighty. Christian ministers, for
ages past, have repudiated nil idea of
revelation or communication from
God, Shut up that principle from
me, deprive me of the privilege, sjiut
me out from God, Jet the heavens, be*
brass so tli at I could not approach
Him, and life has no ol ject. As an
immortal being, connected with this
world and the next, if I can not have
a knowledge of God, I do nqt want to
exist, I want nothing to do with this
world ; God knows there is not enough
in it to captivate the mind of any
intelligent being who is capable of
reflecting on the destinies of a:4 im-
mortal sovd. Ship us of that, and
what have we left? Nothing, simply
nothing. I look upon man as the
handwgrk of God and as an im-
mortal being. I look upon the world
we live in as having emanated Irom
Him, and man created and placed
hero by the wisdom, intelligence,
power, and generosity of th^All Wise,,
the Great Eternal L Am; that was,
and is, and is to come, i look upon
it that men, combining the mortal
and immoital, and possessing such
intelligence as they possess, ought to
be able to approach the fountain of
all intelligence in the way which the
252 JOURNAL OF
gospel unfolds; and if the religion
that I possess will not bring me to an
acquaintance with my Heavenly Fa-
ther, to a relationship with Him, to a
certainty pertaining to the future, as
well as the present, I want nothing to
do with it. I would not give the
ashes of a rye straw for all the reli-
gion in the world that would not lead
a man to God* I want knowledge,
certainty, intelligence; I want prin-
ciples that have emanated from God ;
and I want freedom and liberty as an
American citizen, and as a citizen of
the kingdom of God, as a man who
is capable of breathing free air, and
living, and enjoying the gifts of God.
These things I want, and these, so
help me God, I will have so long as
God gives breath (congregation said
4* Amen"), and no man, no set of men
shall deprive me of them. They may
deprive me of life, but I shall live
and soar among the free in the eternal
worlds, and rejoice among the Gods,
under these blessings and privileges
that God has revealed to us here on
the earth. These aie my feelings in
short, and I feel calm, comfortable,
pleasant, joyous, and happy in the
possession of those principles which
God has revealed for the salvation of
the human family.
I think we read somewhere that
" happy is that people whose God is
the Lord;" and I say happy is that
people who believe in a living God, a
God that can hear and see, and who
can speak and reveal His will to man.
1 feel happy at being associated with
such a people, and io-day there is not
a king, emperor, potentate, or power
on earth with whom I would ex-
change places. God is my God, my
Heavenly Father is my protector, and
He is the protector, and friend, and
God of Israel, and He will stand by
and sustain them in the midst of all
events and under all circumstances
* which may transpire, consequently I
DISCOURSES,
feel easy, comfortable and pleasant,
*' Well but," says one, 44 perhaps
you would not feel so if you had a
I process resting on your head, as some
have." I do not know, but I think I
should. I have known some little of
these things before to-day, I have
been mobbed before tu-day for my
religion, I have been shot at and hit
before to-day for my religion ; and my
religion is just the same to-day as
ever. It produces the same joy, con-
fidence, hope, and reliance as in any
other day ; and these are not only my
feelings, but they are also those of
my brethren. There is no faltering,
no trembling of the knees, no shaking
in the feelings with us. God is our
God ; we are his^people. This is the
Zion of God; this is the kingdom of
God, which our judges tell us the
United States is making war against.
I wonder if they tell the truth ? . No
i matter, I am a member of and an
elder in the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints, and I dare ac-
knowledge it before any power there
is under the heavens. J belong to
that Church; and I thank God, my
Heavenly Father, for the privilege of
being associated with these brethren
and these sisters who are before and
around me ; and my feelings are to-
day, and ever have been, Hue one of
old, when she said : " This people
shall be my people, their God shall
be my God ; where they live I will
live also, where they die there I want
to be buried ;" and when they rise
from and burst the barriers of the
tomb and ascend into the presence of
Jehovah, I expect to be with them,
! and to be one with them in time and
one in eteruity. These are my hopes
and my feelings, and I say Halleluiah,
Halleluiah, fur the Lord God omnipo-
i tent reigneth, and He will reign until
He has put all His enemies under His
feet" (Congregation said " Amen"),
and this kiugdom will go forth and
TIIE GATHERING, ETC
253
roll onwards, and woe to the man who
attempts to stay the progress of
Jehovah. He shall wither like grass
before the breath of the Lord of
Hosts (Congregation said " Amen0),
and the principles of eternal truth
w ill be onward, onward, onward, until
the kingdoms of this world shall be-
come the kingdoms of our God and
His Christ, and He shall rule for
ever and ever/'
Men may try to forge chains for us,
but we will fipap them asunder as
Samson did, by the power of God.
God being our helper, we wiU main-
tain the principles of eternal truth ;
we will maintain and cherish the
principles of freedom and liberty of
all kinds, for all men, for every son
and ranghter of Adam ; and we will
never rest until the world shall be
revolutionized with these principles,
until all men everywhere shall pro-
claim themselves free. It will not be
only like the bell they sounded when
they proclaimed the Declaration of
Independence, and liberty throughout
the land ; but we will proclaim liberty
to the world, salvation to the human
family, freedom of thought and !ree-
dom of action, with power to worship
God as they please, when they please,
and where they please, all over the
face of the wide earth. We will
never rest until the shackles are
knocked off from all men, and all
men everywhere are free and equal.
These are the designs of God, and
God will consummate them, and no
power can stop His hand.
I am not strong in body, and can-
not talk long; but I feel in my bosom
the spirit of God burning like a living
lire. I thank my Father for His pro-
lectin g care and grace over this people;
and I feel like exhorting my brethren
to live their religion, to keep the
commandments of God, and preserve
themselves pure. If they do they
need ask nothing from these rotten,
miserable, stinking wretches with
which they are surrounded here at
the present time. Preserve your-
selves pure, he virtuous, holy, and
honorable, and God will bless you
and stand by you, and Israel shall be
victorious from this time henceforth
and forever, in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
DISCOURSE BY ELDER ORSON PRATT,
i
Delivered in- the Taberxacle, Salt Lake Ctty, December 10, 187L
(Reported by David W* Eva/n$>)
Jo t^fMt'tt i fflf^v^. * l x * p all -fto : , 1 |cmfjt^' $■ '!'> « r.r.iub^
TIIE GATHERING— THE RISE OF THE CHURCH— THE BOOK OF
MORMON — TRUE CHRISTIANITY,
There is § large assembly of people
now seated in this Tabernacle, and it
will require a good deal of attention
and stillness on the part of fio large
a congregation in order to hear dis-
tinctly and to understand what may
he advanced, I have been in the
habit for a few months past of select-
ing a text from the Scriptures. I do
not do so this afternoon, for the
reason that no particular text has
presented itself to my mind ; never-
J-.f/KNAL 0*' iJjric .in; ■ ! . ^
thcless I si i all endeavor by the
assistance of the Spirit of the Lord
to speak upon sheets an they may
lx! presented to meat the very moment.
What they will be I know not It ia
my earnest desire, however, that I
may l>e favored ulih me faith and
prayers of all good people who may be
present, that per ad venture the Lord
may be merciful to us and shed forth
a great abundance of J ii> Holy Spirit
to USStSl US Oil lllkS OCCaSlOU.
It is a strange thing to the greater
part of the civilized world to see, or
rather to contemplate, so many scores
of thousands of people gathering to^
gcther in the interior portions of
North America, in the itocky Moun-
tains or vieiuiry, all of one religious
faith, It is a marvel, ami produces
a gre'it deal of wonderment among
the people, to understand what is the
cause of this great assembling or
gatherLnir t.i^iinT, what it means,
what the object is, what purpose ia to
be accomplished, what, the designs of
the people are and so forth. It is
attracting the attention not only of
our own nation bat of many other
nations — thin fleeing out, this gather-
ing together of a |>eople from so many
parts of t he world and coming together
in the infu ior of this new world, in
a country which, to all human appear-
ance, one of the most difficult
countries in the known world to be
settled. They wonder how it is that
an influence can be exercised over the
minds of so many people, among so
many nations, to get them to leave
the homes of their fathers, their na-
tive countries, their associates and
friends, and go forth for thousands of
miles upon railroad convey an ee, and
'Cross the ocean, and then pursue their
jo unify for thousands of miles still
further into the heart of a desert
This is a curious thing when we re-
-flec t upon it. I will here observe,
however, that it is not the iutlueuce
of muu that has bruught this great
event about; mania not the origin
of this great gathering which you see
in the Territory of Utah. If you do
not believe what I say, let any other
society, 1 don't care how much talent
they may have, how much human
wisdom they may possess ; let them
attempt to accomplish a similar thing
and see whether they can succeed.
Take all the learning that is hi the
world, combine it together, Bend forlh
the most learned and talented orator s
among the nations, exeroiae all the
1 1 u man p > we r and i n fl ue. nee that G od
hn* given yuii, mulaHempt to act'oui-
plish a work similar to the one which
is now before your eyes, and see it you
can succeed. It can't be done; it never
has been dime, to my knowli ilue,
rtinco the days of our Savior. We
have no account in history of any re*
ligious society gathering out from so
many nations into one region of
country since the days of the Savior,
J)o you wish to know the secret of
this great gathering!1 Do you wish
to know why it is that this influence
has been exercised over the minds of
the people ? I wilt tell you : it is he-
oauae God, who is in yonder heavens,
has spoken in oar day, this is t ho
secret* It is because he has sent forth
angels, messengers from heaven, who
have appeared to men here on the
earth, and have conversed with them.
It is because God, by angels, and by
bis own voice, has went forth messen-
gers again unto the human family
with an important message, a message
more important, in one sense of the
word, than any which has before been
delivered to man — a message to pre-
pare the way before the face and
coming of his Son from the heavens.
St rangers may inquire, what has
this great gathering to do with pre-
paring the way Lefure the coming of
his Son f Could yon not all remain
scatlirjd abroad among the nations
THE GATHI-RIM;, KT,
l' -> 7
•nd be prepared just as well? T
answer, that if God had commanded
ns to remain among the nations in
our scattered condition, that would
have been right, and acceptable before
him ; but mi the other hand, if God
has spoken, as we declare that be has,
and his voice has been heard, mid
messengers hnvc been called and sent
forth by divine command, and reve-
lation has been given, not only for
the people to obey fbc gospel but also
to gat Iter out and assemble themselves
in one, then wo con Id not be prepared
for I n\s coming without obeying the, and in power, and he saw angels at
tion to which I will roferyotojiipon this
subject, that now occurs to my mind,
is one that has been often repeated,
for some forty -one years, by ihis peo-
ple; but it is of so much importance,
and interests this generation to that do*
gree* that I never* feel tired of repeat-
ing it* It will be found in < hut pro-
phecy that was delivered to John on
the Island of Patmos* He saw in
vision, as represented in the 14th
chapter of his prophecy, the Son of
Man sitting on a cloud with a sharp
sickle in his hands, clothed iir glory
divine command, It all rests, there-
fore, on this point: has God spoken
concerning this matter? Has he
real ly i 1 1 sti ( u ted th is t h i ng ? 1 1 as he
given divine revelation in the 19th
century r J J;i» be sent forth his
angels? If ho has, then the work
that is before yon is the preparatory
work for the coming of the Son of
God* If he has not spoken, as we
declare that he has, then a similar
work will have to be performed in the
future by somt? other people; for the
very work which you now perceive —
the gulhetiug together of1 so many
thousands, is clearly predicted by the
ancient prophet s ; find if we are not
the people fulfilling these predictions,
then another people must rise here-
after tinder similar circumstances to
fulfil them, before the Son of God will
come from tlfe heavens, to reign here
as K:n^ of kings and Lord of lords.
Much has been said about the
coming of our Lord to reign hereon the
earth lor a thousand years, We have
now in the United S tides arid in
Great Britain, and other parts of the
world, those who call themselves Se-
cond Adventists, who say they are
going forth in order to prepare the way
i before the coming of the Lord. But
Are they fulfilling the predictions of
the ancient prophets contained in this
Bible ? By no means. Tho fi rst pred ic-
tho same time, and one of them cried
unto him that had the sharp sickle in
his hands, I hat lie should ;.■■■> 1" i ih mid
reap down the earth ; for the harvest
of the earth is ripe. Here was a view
of the corning of the Son of Man. But
before this, there was a preparatory
work to perform, the nature of which
1 is explained in tho same chapter.
This preparatory work is what I wish
to call your special attention to on
this occasion.
It was no less than a messenger
that was to fly through the midst of
heaven — an holy angel* not some-
thing to be spirit naL:.-dt or that we
can interpret according to our own
views, not some great and renowned
m m that u si.s to be raised Up here on
the earth, but an angel " I saw an-
other angel/' Kays John, before tho
coming of Christ, before he saw that
personage sitting on the cloud, ** I
another angel flying through tho
midst of heaven." Not a person
raised up to go and preach here, and
fly among the inhabitants of the
cru'th. I>n Hying through the midst
of heaven. What particular message
had this angel to convey, and to whom
was he to convey it P John says,
that this ang< I ' liom he saw flying
through the midst of heaven bad the
everlasting gospel to preach unto
them that dwell on the earth. To
258 '
Ml IINAT, fiK IHsr^rusiX
show how extensively it was to^be
preached, mark tlie next sentence:
** To be plead ied unto t 1 1 em t i tut
dwell on the earth, unto every nation,
kindred, tongue and people/1 Does
not this include all P Dues not the
prediction lake within its scope all
mankind in the four quarters of the
earth ? It verily does. What was
connected with this everlasting gospel
that the angel should have to he thus
extensively preached ' among the in-
h ah i r a n ts of t he ear th? W \ i at o 1 1 te r
predict inn was uttered on that occa-
sion? The angel proclaimed that
the Itour e*f God's judgment ha.]
come. *He had the gospel to restore,
however, be to re 1 1 tat judgment would
fall on i he nations. They must first.
because she made jj.'J nations drink
of the wine of the wrath of her forni-
cation.*' We learn that a certain
MW, under the name of G reat
I i-thvloti, is to meet with a total down-
fall after the gospel had been preach-
ed, that \\*m to be brought by an
angel. A third an get followed, and
declared that all who would not re-
ceive the message of truth should be
cast down, and should be punished,
an<| the smoke of their torment >hou!d
rise up for ever ami for ever. After
having predicted the coming of these
three aitgefs he then proclaims the
corning of the Son of God sitting on
a cloud, of which '1 have spoken.
Now we have this important me.s-
to ie*i iJy. and we t-. ; \\y it in
hear if, they mcst iii>{ ho warned, all bo Id ness, we testify it before the
they nui^t first receive the oppor- heavens, we testify it before the ea^tj^
ttmity and privilege of receiving the j we testify it in the name of the Lord
message, utter which, if the)* do not i God who has sent us, in tie name of
reeieveH, the angel said lh:
of God's i
our
I's htd lament has conic. Con-
set] lien fly we learu from these pre-
dictions some tlirec i>r four very iin-
poKaul tilings. First: that whin
the gospel is again committed to the
inhaminnts of the earth it is to be bv
an angel,
Hi. i- eoiuisi
Jesus Christ who has redeemed us;
that that angel baa already come, thai
the 1 9 tb centu ry is the ta v ored een i trry
in winch ( tod has fulfilled this ancient
prediction, uttered by the month of
his ancient servant, God ha* indeed
Nit that angel, and when became he
*>nd: that when it is revealed the everlasting gospel.
\t it must lie preached I lint 1 know what now rises in your
*to all people under the w lade heavens* hearts, 1 know what tlie strangers
™i thorn" any exception cd tongues or who are Iwfore me will say in theft
languages or races. Third: we learn hearts, what they now think. Some of
that the limit- of (hid's judgment was you now say in your hearts, wo have
imnnd lately to follow tins preaching the everlasting gospel Contained here
of the everlasting gospel. j in this book, the ftew Testament, and
Now mark what is predicted in the we have had it l< r some riizlitecn ecu-
neat verse. This was the first mes- turies or more, and consequent I v what
but John says, "1 saw another was the use of another angel taring
i?1 follow him," There were two t lie same everlasting gospel to commit
S!('
angels then, the first one with a
message of the gospel of pence, pro-
claiming peace to the inhabitants of
the earth, and then judgment im-
mediately to follows frhe second
angel had no message of peace, but
this was his proclamation; * Behold,
^Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen,
to the children of men when we al-
ready had it r Now was not that in
your he uls Y I will venture to say
that there were some in this coiigre-
n «tion who were thinking of some-*
t h i n g very si ui il ar t o this, Le t m e say
in answer to this query that God has
revealed the everlasting gospel anew.
THE GATHERING, ETC
257
But what reason or purpose had he in
so doing, say some, have we not suffi*
cient written on the subject in the
Bible r Have we not the Gospel in
great plainness, and why should he
reveal it anew ? I will tell you why.
What is written in the New Testa-
ment in relation to the everlasting
Gospel is not as it was when it was
first revealed ; and as a testimony
that it is not very plain, let me refer
you to some five or six hundred differ-
ent religious views, all founded on this
same book, which you say contains
the everlasting Gospel. Why all
these views, why all this distraction
Of faith ? Why, for instance, does
one sect believe in sprinkling another
in pouring, another in immersion, an-
other rejecting baptism entirely, an-
other baptizing those who profess to
have obtained forgiveness of sins?
Another class baptizing expressly for
the remission of sins ? Why is it
that all these sentiments and religions
notions prevail? Do not all these
classes profess to found their faith on
the New Testament, which they say
contains the everlasting Gospel ? O
yes. It shows clearly and plainly
that there is something lacking.
There are just as many sincere people,
no doubt, who believe that sprinkling
infants is the correct mode of bap-
tism, as there are who believe in
baptizing adults by immersion. One
class is jnst as sincere as the other;
one professes to believe and have con*
fidence in the New Testament as well
as the other. Now there must be
something that is not quite so clear in
the New Testament, or there would
not be so great a diversity of opinion
and sentiment, >
We again refer to the everlasting
Gospel that the angel should bring!
What might we expect when the
angel comes ? Could we not reason-
ably expect that when God sends an
angel from heaven with the ever*
No, 17,
lasting Gospel he will make it so plain
that there can be no misunderstandinjr
in regard to any ordinance or any
principle that is connected with it ?
! That is what I should expect. The
causes why these things are not
so plain now in the New Testament,
are these: the New Testament has
been handed down, or its manuscripts,
for a great many centuries, trans-
cribed by the scribes of different
generations. No doubt many of these
' were sincere and good men ; but they
i have made, in the course of so many
centuries, many great perversions in
J the text, in the original word I mean,
; in the Greek text, and also in the
Hebrew so far as the Old Testament
is concerned, I am not referring to
the English manuscripts, but to the
text written in what is termed the
original Greek or Hebrew. These
Greek and Hebrew manuscripts being
transmitted from generation to gener-
ation, and transcribed and altered
more or less, have fallen at length in-
to the hands of the people of latter
times in a state wherein they very
much contradict each other, It is
declared by the most learned arch-
bishops and bishops, and men of great
learning who have gathered together
thousands of these ancient man uscripts
and compared them one with another,
that tli ere are thirty thousand differ-
ent readings of the original text.
Not merely a different reading in one
or two phrases, but of the original
te^t, taking the Old and New Testa-
ment as a whole. When King James,
in his day, set a great number of
learned men apart to translate the
Bible into the English language, they
gathered together such manuscripts as
they could get hold of. By examining
them they of coursedtd not know which
was correct. They found them differ-
ing one with another in thousands of
instances. Which were the most
correct tbey, without inspiration,
Vol. XIV.
258
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES-
never could learn ; bat they did tlie
very best they knew how. They are
not to blame for those errors. They
were men of integrity ; they collected,
according to the best of their under-
standing and knowledge, the manu-
scripts in existence and translated
them according to the best informa-
tion they had concerning: the original
languages. Hence originated this
present English Bible, King James's
translation. I am astonished when I
look at this Bible, to find it so correct;
I am astonished, and it has been a
mystery to me that it cfm be so cor-
rect with such an abundance of con-
tradictions in the original manuscripts.
As a general thing the meaning has
not been altered much, but it has been
altered sufficiently to produce all the
confusion at present existing through-
out Christendom. AH these different
denominations have arisen, founded
on the same Bible and on the same
text. What may we expect then
when God sends an angel ? Must we
expect that he will give us a confused
mass of something that we cannot un-
derstand ? Or may we not rather
expect that he will impart to us the
plainness and simplicity of his word,
and call that the gospel, and call up-
on the nations ot the earth to receive
it ? I answer that so far as reason is
concerned, and good sound judgment,
that is, so far as I can judge concern,
ing reason, reason would say that the
God of truth would communicate a
message in perfect plainness, that
could not be misunderstood by those
who desired to know the right way.
Well, such was the fact. I hold in
my hand a record containing more
writing than the New Testament ; and
this book, from the beginning to the
«id, was written by divine revelation,
comprising history, prophecies and
the Gospel. It was written by an
ancient people, a portion of the house
of Israel, who dwelt in ancient
America. Prophets and inspired men
wrote this record on plates of gold.
They inform us that Jesus adminis-
tered on this American continent in
perron, as well as on the little land of
Palestine. They inform us that after
his resurrection and ascension from
the laud of Jerusalem to his Father,
he descended on this American con*
Linen t, that he taught them here at
different times, appearing to them
often, delivering to them his ever-
lasting Gospel in plainness and sim-
plicity. He commanded them to
write that Gospel upon the plates that
they kept their records on at that
time, and which had been already
handed down among them for about
six hunched years. This book also
informs us concerning the preaching
of the Gospel among the ancient
Americans — the ancient inhabitants
of this country ; that twelve men
were called, not apostles, or r&ther
that they were not called apostles,
but disciples. Twelve disciples were
chosen in ancient America and preach-
ed the Gospel that the Son of God
revealed to them in person. They
proclaimed that Gospel in the four
quarters of this Western hemisphere,
in other words, on what we call South
and North America; they built up
the Church and Kingdom of God in
this land, and millions of the people
received the Gospel. They kept a
record of this fact three hundred and
eighty-four years after the coming of
Christ. Mormon, who had charge of
the records, after making an abridg-
ment on other plates, in consequence
of the apostacy of his portion of the
nation, delivered the abridgment or
the plates that contained it, into the
hands of his son Moroni, a faithful
prophet and servant of God, but the
other plates he hid up in a hill in
what we now call the State of New
York, Moroni beheld the downfall
of his nation, their destruction by the
THE GATHERING, ETC.
259
Lands of another branch of the house
of Israel, a powerful nation on this
continent. The nation that kept
these records was destroyed. Moroni,
who was the last prophet entrusted
with the plates, had to flee from place
to place and hide up in dens and caves
in order to preserve his own lite.
These records, four hundred and
twenty years after the birth of Christ,
were hidden up, at least that was the
last date given on them. With thern
was deposited a sacred instrument
that wag possessed by the people on
this continent, called the Urim and
Thummim. Many predictions were
uttered, not only by Moroni, but by
many previous prophets, that these
record .s in the last days, should be
brought to light by the ministration
of holy messengers ; that God would
bring thern forth in order to prepare
the way before the coming of his Son
from the heavens. This, therefore,
is the book that that angel whom John
saw flying through the midst of
heaven has revealed to the inhabi-
tants of the earth. This is the
sacred book that contains the ever-
lasting Gospel revealed by the angel.
Th is is the sacred book which God
Jias commanded his servants to pub-
lish to the four quarters of the globe
as a witness unto all nations before
the Son of Man comes* This is the
-sacred book that contains the words
of our hoid and Savior Jesus Christ
when he appeared on this American
continent. This is the sacred book
that will go forth, warning all people,
nations and tongues before the Son of
Man appears in his glory. If they
xeceive it they will be blest, if they
xeceive it not then will be fulfilled
that which was spoken by the mouth
of John the Revelator concerning the
boor of God's judgment coming upon
them.
Does this book do away with those
differences that exist in regard to
j many points of the doctrine of Jesus ?
Does it make it plain so that there is
no chance of building up two different
denominations from the doctrines it
contains ? I answer yes, there can
not be established two different de-
nominations founding their ideas on
the doctrines of this book* Why ?
Because the doctrine is so plain in
every point that it is impossible for
any person with common sen ho not to
i understand it jnsr as it is delivered
and revealed. Hence you perceive
that, that which we would naturally
expect and reasonably hope for when
the angel came is realized, namely, a
doctrine so plain that all the learning
and wisdom of man could not wrest
and twist and turn it, and make it
appear two different things. For in-
stance, let us take the simple ordin-
ance of baptirmi, what dues the Book
of Mormon say in regard to that one
ordinance ? Jesus, when he came to
the American continent, they not
having seen the true order of baptism
in the same light that the Jews had
i in Palestine, condesended to point out
to them how they should be baptized.
He says, first, you must believe in me
and repent of yonr sins arid become
as a little child and go forth and be
baptized for the remission of your sins
and you shall receive the Holy Ghost ;
and then, to show how this ordinance
was to be performed, he says that in*
asmuch as any one shall come forth
' desiring the ordinance of baptism,
having repented of his sins, having
believed in me, even Jesus Christ,
you shall go down into the water and
you shall baptize him in my name;
you shall immerse him in the water,
and come forth out of the water, and
then he shall receive the Holy Ghost
Showing the ordinance also through
which and by which the Holy Ghost
should be given, namely, the laying
on of harftis. Now I ask, is there
any possibility, with words penned as
2G0 JOURNAL OF
plain as these words are recorded, to
build up two different denominations
in regard to the mode of baptism ?
No, they could not do it; there could
not be one sprinkling, another pour-
ing and another baptizing by im-
mersion ; neither could there be those
who would require individuals to first
expeiience religion and then be bap-
tized ; but be baptized in my name
for the j emission of their sins, and j
then tliey shall receive the Holy
Ghost/' j
Perhaps the strangers will say,
that is plain enough, we admit your
argument that, if that be a revalation
from God, there could not be two
different denominations built up on
that. I will say further that in re- ;
gard to a great many other points of
doctrine this Look is just as plain and
just as simple. Supposing you could
grant all this, supposing you should
say, strangers, we will admit that it is
very plain in the Book of Mormon j
but the great question with us is, is j
the Book of Mormon a divine reve-
lation ? that is the question that we
want answered. The plainness we
don't dispute, we know that it is so
plain that a wayfaring man thoogh a
fool need not err therein ; all that we
want to know in regard to the matter
is, has God given that book, or is it
an invention of man ? What evi-
dence have you to offer, inquires the
stranger, to prove the divine authen-
ticity of your book? You have the 1
testimony of Joseph Smith. He j
gays that an angel came and revealed
to him the Book of Mormon, and that
e was commanded by the Lord
Almighty to go and get the plates,
ibocording to the vision that was shown
1o him at the time the angel came
and conversed with him, that he ob-
tained the plates, and he says be trans-
lated them by the TJrim and Thum-
mim. This all rests, perhaps you may
think, upon his testimony alone.
DISCOUKSES.
Well, supposing it did, has God ever
condemned the world for not obeying
one servant when he only had one
witness ? I answer yes, in some in-
stances. He was going to condemn
the great city of Nineveh on a certain
occasion through the testimony of one
man called Jonah, aIri forty days
this great city shall be destroyed/*
says Jonah. Jonah finding that the
Lord sent but one witness with such
an important message felt almost dis-
couraged, and when he was on his
way to deliver it to a great people
and city, he felt that he would almost
rather die than go as a single and
solitary witness with a message of so
much importance, and he btsought
the people to throw him overboard.
They did so, the Lord having pro-
duced a furious wind, frightened the
people, and they, according to their
old traditions, thong Lit somebody was
on board that ought not to be there,
Jonah told them that he had rejected
the commandment of the Lord, and if
they would throw him overboard the
winds would cease. They did so, and
the wind did cease, A hah was ^pre-
pared and it swallowed up Jonah, and
the fish was commanded of the Lord
to go and vomit tip Jonah on the
land, which he did. Very obedient,
much more so than many people are
' now*a-days, or have been in former
times. Th s fish was obedient to
the command of the Lord and
went and did what the Lord com-
manded, and Jonah was thrown up.
The word of the Lord came to him
to go and fulfil his miss on. He went
and preached to the great city of
Nineveh, and told the people what the
| Lord intended to do, and the people
repented in sackcloth and ashes, from
the king on his throne down to the
least of them ; they all turned and
repented of their sins, and the Lord
! had compassion and did not execute
the judgment on them because of their
THE GATHERING, ETC
261
repentance. Now, what would have
been the consequence if they had re-
jected this one man's testimony ?
The consequence would have been
their overthrow, Jonah might have
told them that God had sent him, and
lie might have preached to them that
he had been swallowed up by a whale,
and that God had given command-
ment to the fish to vomit him up on
dry ground ! What would they care
about that? They would have said,
11 Jonah is crazy, insane, he must be
insane," and they might have rejected
his testimony, and brought death and
destruction on the whole city, con-
sequently God may send but one
witness.
But he sometimes condescends to
give more. We have four witnesses
who have written and whose writings
have descended to oar day, concerning
the resurrection of Jesus Christ — one
of the most important, events that has
ever happened in our world. Four
men who saw -Jesus after his resur-
rection have testified in the New
Testament Loins resurrection. "Oh,
but," says one, 44 we have more than
four men*" I think not, I can't find
but four who have written. No
women have written, for we have not
any women's epistles or writings in
the New Testament. " But," says
one, " do you mean to say that the
twelve apostles have not. handed down
their testimony ? I do say so, I
have no doubt but what they did tes-
tify of his resurrection, but they have
given us no account. Four of the
eight writers of the New Testament
saw Jesus after his resurrection, and
all the Christian world at the present
day believe that Jesus rose from the
dead because those four men testitied
that he did so, But does not Paul
say that he was seen by him, and
afterwards on a certain occasion
after his resurrection by tive hundred
of his brethren ? Yes, we suppose
that he said so, because the writer of
the Acts of the Apostles says that
Paul said so; but it all rests on the
writer of those Acts, whose name is
supposed to be Luke, Luke says that
Paul saw Jesus ; Luke says that he
was seen by five hundred, or at least
he says that Paul says that he was
seen by five hundred. Well now,
snch a great and important fact as
the resurrection of the Son of God
rests upon the testimony of four
witnesses, and they are dead. You
cannot cross-question them, you can't
ask them if their testimony is true,
you can't go to them and enquire
about the particulars in relation to it;
hut you have to take the testimony
of four witnesses who are dead and
have been for eighteen hundred years;
yet you believe the great fact, I do,
and so do the batter-day Saints, on
their testimony.
Again, we find that it is written in
the New Testament, the words of
Jesus on the same subject, that in the
months of two or three witnesses shall
every word be established. Indeed, is
that so? Are two or three witnesses
sufficient to condemn the whole world
of mankind, and to leave them with-
out excuse? Jesus says so: every
word shall be established in the
mouths of two or three witnesses.
This is in accordance wMi what took
place in the days of the flood. Noah,
Shem, Ham and Japhet were the only
witnesses that went forth to warn that
generation of a terrible judgment that
was to come on all flesh if they did
not repent. They did not receive the
testimony of those four men and con-
sequently they were overthrown by
the flood, God does therefore condemn
the children of men by the number
of witnesses that seems to him good
to communicate, or through whom to
communicate, a message to them.
Now then, let us come back again.
Here was Joseph Smith, a boy, his
very youth ought to testify in his
favor, for when the Lord first re*
vealed himself to that little boy, he
was only between fourteen and fifteen
years of age. Now, can we imagine
or suppose that a great impostor could
be made out of a youth of that age,
and one that could reveal the doctrine
of Christ as he has revealed it to this
generation? Would he stand forth
and bear testimony that he had seen
with his own eyes a messenger of
light and glory, and that he heard
the words of his mouth as they
dropped from his lips and had re-
ceived a message from the Most High,
at that early age? And then, after hav-
ing declared it, to have the finger of
scorn pointed at him, with exclam-
ations/4 There goes the visionary boy!
No visions in our day, no angels conic
in our day, no more revelation to be
given in oar day ! Why he is deluded,
be is a fanatic ;" and to have this
scorn and derision an 1 still continue
to testify, in (lie face and eyes of all
this, wlule hated and derided by his
neighbors, that God had sent his
angel from heaven. Can you imagine
that a youth would do this ? Select
out some of our little boys here, four-
teen years of age, can you imagine it
to be possible lur them to be impost-
tors of this description? I think
not The very youth, then, of this
first witness that I have named, testi-
fies in his favor! Did God send forth
servants to publish this Book of
Mormon, containing the everlasting
Gospel, to all the nations and king-
doms of the earth without giving
more witnesses than this one I have
named ? No, lie was more merciful
to this generation than he was to the
city of Nineveh ; he sent more than
one. He would not even permit this
book to go forth as a divine revelation
to this generation until he had raised
up three other men — Martin Harris,
David Whitmer and Oliver Cowdrey,
besides Joseph Smith. " But," says
one, u perhaps they were deceived,
while Joseph Smith was the imposter,
they might have been sincere men !'*
Let us see whether they could
be deceived men, and yet their tes-
timony be given as it is here recorded.
They have testified to all nations,
kindred, tongues and people unto
whom this work shall come, that, "we,
through the grace of God the Father
and our Lord Jesus Christ, have seen
the plates which contain this record,
and we testify with words of sober-
ness that God sent forth an holy
angel from heaven, and he showed*
unto us the plates from which this
record was taken, and lie commanded
us to bear record of the same and to
be obedient unto the commandment
of God, We bear testimony of these
things, and we do know it we are
faithful in Christ we shall rid our
garments of the blood of all men," and
so forth. I have repeated to yon part
of the testimony of these three men.
Now is there any chance for decep-
tion here ? An angel to be sent forth
from God, an angel to come down
from heaven clothed in glory and
brightness ! An angel to take these
plates and turn them over leaf after
leaf and show the engravings there-
on ! An angel to proclaim to them
that they must bear testimony of
it to all people, nations and tongues;
and at the same time to hear the voice
of God out of the heavens proclaim-
ing that it had been translated cor-
rectly ! Any chancre for deception
here, so far as they are concerned ?
Were they deceived ? If so, you may
as well say that Peter was deceived,
that Paul was deceived, that James
was deceived, that all the writers of
the New Testament were deceived;
that all the writers of the Old Tes-
tament were deceived, when they
testify that they saw angels, for
one stands on as good and sound
THE GATHERING, ETC.
203
a foundation as the other; and if the
very nature of the testimony as re-
corded by the ancient writers shows
the impossibility of their being de-
ceived, so does ttie nature of the
testimony revealed in the Inst days
show the impossibility of these in-
dividuals being deceived. Here then
were four men before this church had
any existence, four special witnesses,
raised up to testify to the truth of the
divinity of the Book of Mormon,
Were tbe.se all the witnesses God
gave before the rise of this church ?
No, no ! There are eight other wit-
nesses whose names are recorded,
attached to their own testimony, a
testimony which they give expressly
to go forth in connection with this re-
cord, or in all the translations of this
record to every people, tongue and
•nation under the whole heavens. What
do they testify ? They testify in
words of soberness that they have
seen the plates from which this re-
cord was translated, that they have
handled these plates, that they saw
the engravings on these plates, that
they had the appearance of ancient
work and of curious workmanship,
and they bear this testimony in words
of soberness, and give their names to
go forth to the whole world of man-
kind, I ask if either of these twelve
witnesses have denied their testimony
from that day to this? Never, in
no instance* Neither of these twelve
men, whatever has been his circum-
stances, wherever he has been, has
ever denied his testimony from that
day to this. Forty- two years and up-
wards have passed away since those
twelve witnesses, four of whom saw
the angel, gave their testimony.
What other witnesses have you be-
sides these ? On the strength of this
testimony other persons believed in
the everlasting Gospel and went forth
and were baptized, repenting of their
sins, for the remission of them. And
God commanded his servants whom
he had called and ordained to be
apostles in this church and kingdom,
to lay their hands upon them, and
said that they, the candidates, should
receive the Holy Ghost through that
ordinance. Did they receive the
Holy Ghost ? They testified that
they did. They prophesied, — they
were filled with joy and light, and
with a spirit that they never had ex-
perienced before. They testified that
they had received the baptism of fire
and of the Holy Ghost, in fulfillment
of the promise. Did God reveal to
them anything by this spirit that
came upon them through obedience to
the Gospel ? Yes, What did be
reveal ? He revealed to them the
divinity of this work, the truth of it,
and they knew as well as these wit-
nesses whose testimonies are recorded
that Joseph Smith was a prophet of
Go I. They knew that no human
being by human means could confer
the baptism of the Holy Ghost, as
they testified they had received it,
consequently they became witnesses
in their turn, and many of them were
sent forth as messengers and mission-
aries to preach to their neighbors,
and into the regions round about, to
declare what God h:id commenced to
perform and accomplish in the midst
of the 19th century.
By and by thousands received the
work. Did they receive the Holy
Ghost ? Yes, every person who re-
pented sincerely before God, who had
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and
came forth humbly, and was baptized
by immersion by those whom the
Lord had called and appointed by reve-
lation, did receive the Holy Ghost, by
the laying on of the hands of the ser-
vants of God. These would consti-
tute thousands of more witnesses in
addition to those that I have named.
But let other witnesses speak, be-
sides all these who had received a
264
JO l ilNAL OF DISCOURSES.
revelation of the divinity of this work.
What other witnesses did God give ?
He gave the same witnesses to the
Church after it was built up that he
gave to the ancient Church, What
did he give to the ancient Church ?
He said to his apostles, as recorded
in the last chapter of Mark, H Go ye
forth and preach the Gospel in all the
world to every creature, he that be-
lieveth and is baptized shall be saved ;
he that belie veth not shall be dam-
ned, And these signs shall follow
them that believe," Notice, now,
certain signs were to be given not
only to the twelve men to whom he
wus speaking, but all the world that
should believe their testimony, mak-
ing millions and millions of witnesses*
" These signs *ball follow them that
believe : in my name they shall cast
out devils." These believers, not you
apostles to whom I am speaking
alone, but all that believe the Gospel
which you preach, " they shall cast
out devils in my name ; they shall
speak with new tongues, if they shall
drink any deadly thing or take up
serpents it shall not hurt them ;
they shall lay their hands upon the
sick and they shall lecover." What
glorious signs to follow the Christians,
or all believers in Christ! What has
become of all the Christians in all
the centuries that are past and goner
Where are they ? If there have been
any they have had these signs follow-
ing them. What, do you mean, Mr.
Pratt, to ur.christianize the world ?
0 no, I am only quoting the words
of Jesus. It there have been any
Christians in the world for the hist
seventeen centuries, these signs have
followed them. They have laid hands
on the sick and the sick have re-
covered ; they have cast out devils in
the name of Jesus, lor recollect the
promise is to all believers, not to a
few or a part of theru.
, Notice the two promises: First,
salvation — he that believes, (that ii
all believers throughout the world,)
and is baptized shall be saved. Will
you pretend to say that that promise
of salvation was limited to the days
of the apostles? "0 no/' answer
all the Christian sects with one un-
ited voice, 41 the promise of salvation
is for all Christians in the first age,
in all future ages throughout all the
world," Very well, come to the next
verse, *' These signs shall follow them
that believe." " Ah," says the Chris-
tians, " that is not for us, that is limi-
ted to the clays of the apostles; that
was not intended for the Christians of
the second,, third, fourth or fifth cen-
tury, or for the people in our day.
No, all we have to do is to claim the
first promise and reject the last."
Well, we are not so foolish as all
this, although taught by our fore-
fathers, and the pretended Christians
around us, that these signs would hot
follow the believer, yet we were just
simple enough to believe that Jesus
told the truth, and, consequently,
when the servants of God went forth
and taught the everlasting Gospel
that an angel had brought from
heaven, the £jord confirmed the word
by signs following. To whom ? To
those who believed. He promised
that they should have certain signs,
and they got them, and this was a con-
firmation to them, Every man and ev-
ery woman might know whether he or
she was a believer or not in the Gospel ;
if they obtained the signs they were
believers; if they obtained no gifts or
no signs there was lack on their
part, they were not Christians in the
full sense of the word.
Don't you think we would have
been discouraged after forty years*
trial if God had not fulfilled the
promise ? I think we should. I do
not think you would see this large con-
gregation herein thisdesert mountain-
ous country, I have no idea you would
THE GATHERING; ETC.
265
find such a people here in such a for-
bidding country as we now occupy, if
God had not, in numerous instances
■among the nations in which you for-
merly dwelt, fulfilled his promise,
and given you the promised blessing.
This therefore, is another evidence,
besides the evidence and testimony re-
corded in the Book of Mormon, an evi-
dence which hundreds and thousands
enjoy the present day. Hundreds
and thousands have seen with their
eyes and have experienced the powerof
God as manifested in t\\e various gifts.
This is what constitutes the true
Christian Church. This is what dis-
tinguishes Christianity from all spuri-
ous doctrines, and separates the true
from spurious Christianity. This is
the great distinguishing point, it is
the power of God made manifest
through the preaching of the ever-
lasting Gospel, It is this which has
gathered this people out from among
the nations. It is because their sick
have been healed in their own coun-
try; ii is because thousands of this
people, now in this Territory, have
been healed themselves. It is be-
cause God has shed forth his power by
the ministrations of his servants and
proved tu them with testimonies
they never can deny that the
Lord God of Israel has spoken from
the heavens. Blessed be the name
of the Lord our God ! Praise his
name fnr evermore, that he has again
sent the Gospel in its fulness to the
earth. We should praise his name
because he has not only restored the
Gospel, but the power and authority
to preach it, and administer its ordi-
nances! Power and authority sent
down from heaven and conferred upon
weak mortal man to baptize for the
remission of sins ! Power and author-
ity sent from the eternal heavens to
build up his Church here on the
earth ; and we sec divine power and
authority accompaning those who
he has thus called and to whom he
has thus revealed himself. Conse-
quently our Gospel does not come
with the cunning craftiness of man's
wisdom* Though we may be poor,
illiterate men, taken from our com-
mon avocations of life and sent forth
by the Lord Almighty to proclaim
his Gospel, we have one thing the
world has not got. Though we may
not be able to proclaim the Gospel in
eloquence of language and in the
power and wisdom of the world, we
have a power that is superior to that
— we have (he power of the Almighty
God. We have his angels to so be-
fore our face, his Spirit to dwell
richly in our hearts, and his presence
to go with \is and be with uw on our
right hand and our left. It is he
who performs the work; it is he who
proclaims to the inhabitants of the
earth by the mouths of his servants,
saying, '* Repent, and prepare the way
for the great day of the coming of
the Lord Irom the heavens/'
Will they hear ? No, like the peo-
ple in the days of the Hood, they eat,
they drink, they are engaged in mer-
chandise and in the tiaffic of this
world, and the voice of inspiration
and the power of Almighty God that
are being made manifest among the
people will not reach their stubborn
and hardened hearts, until the Lord,
by and by, by h is judgments, will pour
out his indignation upon all nations.
Amen,
2G6
JOURNAL OF DISCXHJRSES.
DISCOURSE BY ELDER JOHN TAYLOR,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, December 17, 1871
(Reported by David W* Evans.)
OUR RELIGION FROM GOD NOT MAN — ENTER NOT INTO TKMITATION — NO
COVENANTS TO FORSAKE.
In rising to address you this after-
noon I feel as I always do, on like
occasions, — the necessity of the in-
fluence and direction of the spirit of
the Lord* We, as a people, believe
emphatically in the sustaining hand
of the Almighty, and in our speaking
and in our hearing in the assemblies
of the Saints we always feel that it is
a matter of the greatest importance to
us. We realize that God is near to
US, that we arc acting under his gui-
dance and direction, that we are his
children and require his aid, and that
while we seek unto him for guidance
and direction we shall always have
his Holy Spirit to lead us in the paths
of truth. In this respect as well as
many others we differ from the people
of the generation in which we live.
We came out from among them years
ago, because we believed in certain
revelations that God had made to the
human family j and believing in these
principles we have assembled our-
selves together as we are found, in
these valleys of the mountains, in the
Territory of Utah. We have come
here, ostensibly and in reality, not to
do our own will, but the will of our
heavenly Father; not to follow our
own pursuits, but to try and pursue
that path which he should dictate in
all things, temporal and spiritual, per-
taining to this world and the world
to come ; and hence we, as a people,
feel iind realize our dependence upon
the Almighty. We conceive, as the
old apostle did in generations past,
that ** in him we live and move and
from him we have our being;" and
we conceive that we derive all the en-
joyments of life from him. Oqr re-
ligion emanated from him, if it did
not we have none, for it certainly is
not founded upon any principles that
were extant in the world when it was
revealed. If he had not revealed hia
will and we had not believed in that
revelation we should not have been
here; but believing in that, we are
assembled as we are to-day, here, and
as we are through the valleys of these
mountains. We did not obtain our
religion from anybody else, we did
not learn it in the colleges of the
day nor from any system of theology >
nor any religious academy, neither in
any theological school . We are not
trained, or brought up, or educated,
or informed by any intelligence that
they have ; the religion that we have
we received w not of man, neither by
man, but by the revelations of the
Lord Jesus Christ." This is the po-
sition that we occupy to-day in regard >
to our religious feelings, and if this is
a fiction, then our religion is a fiction
altogether, for we have none. We
claim no affiuity, no relationship, no
uril RELIGION FR03I
GOD NOT MAN, ETC.
287
association with any sect, any party,
any religionists that exist on the face
of the wide earth; therefore they
cannot say, as some profess to do,
that we have borrowed certain parts
of our religion from others. We have
neither adopted the opinions of So-
crates, Mahomraed, Paine, Luther, or
the Hindoos ; nor are we indebted
to Roman Catholicism, the Greek
Church j Episcopal] an ism, or to Knox,
Calvin, Whitfield, Wesley, Campbell,
Miller, or any other sects, our religion
in its entirety came from God, and
we give to him, and not to any man
or any set of men, the glory.
In relation to our political position
it is precisely the same. There is an
inherent principle of right planted in
the human bosom, which God has
placed there, and which man never
could, can not now, nor ever will up-
root ; principles of inherent right
which all intelligent men, when they
have sought for the truth, with un-
biassed mind, and desired sincerely to
know,have invariably found. Govern-
ed by the principles of right, and im- ;
influenced by party power or wealth,
there have always been men inspired
by an infallible divine afflatus, who
have recognized an innate, inalienable
principle of justice and equity, in
every age and among all nations, and
the records of the Babylonians, the
Medo- Persians, the Greeks, Romans
and more modern nations bear ample
testimony to this fact. The principle
of right is implanted in the human
bosom and inherent in the human
family, among all governments that
have ever existed, and men of virtue,
honor and truth have always arrived
at the same conclusions that we have.
The founders of our government,
under the inspiration of the Almighty,
and goaded by an oppressive power,
discovered the same elements, the
same principles, the same ideas that
we have, and enunciated those eternal
principles and made them known to
the world, — "that all men are born
free and equal and have a right to life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness/*"
The founders of the French Republic,
about the same time, made a declar-
ation almost verbatim. It is the vio-
lation of the natural rights of man
that has deluded the earth with blood
in all ages. These principles were
enunciated also by Joseph Smith, he
believed in them, so do we, in the*
right to think, in the right to speak,
in the tight to act, in the right to do
all tilings that are right and good and
proper, hat not in the right to inter-
fere with any other man's rights,
any other man's religion, >my other
man's principle.-* These are our
views. God has planted them in our
bosom, they will remain there eter-
nally, for they are principles that
dwell in the bosom of God. He is
not circumscribed or sectarian in his
views, " he causes his sun to shine on
the evil and the good, and sends his
rain on the just and unjust." We
certainly are not indebted for these
principles to those who come among
us here, but God has implanted them
in our bosoms, and they will grow
there and take root and spread and
prevail, and the worst wish wc have
to the human familv is that the nrin-
ciples enunciated in our Constitution
may reverberate over the wide earth,
and spread from shore to shore until
all mankind shall be free.
These are the things that we are
struggling for, these are the things
for which we stand condemned at the
present day, by the would-be repub-
icans and democracy of this corrupt
generation with which we are associ-
ated, Nevertheless, we have clung
to them and shall cling to them. Do
any men come among us with re-
ligions that we consider false? All
right, let them worship as they
please. Let them rant and roar and
268
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
pray and halloo to their God, who
seems to be deaf and can't hear them,
and let them take what course they
please but let us alone. We will let them
alone. They may halloo until they
crack their throats, it will make no
difference to us. We care nothing
about their opinions and dogmas, we
have left their follies and nonsense
and cant and hypocrisy years ago,
we want nothing to do with it* If
ihey want it they can take it, they
<can hug it to themselves as a sweet
morsel, and take their own course,
but let us alone. We arc indebted
to God fur the blessings we enjoy,
and this nation, whether they know
it or not, are indebted to the same
source for all those pure, patriotic,
liberal, exalted notions that the wise,
enlightened and honest statesmen,
inducted into our government years
ago, and which those who are not
■disfranchised among us, experience
•to-day P But God has nothing to do
with the corruption, fraud, hypocrisy
and cant that exist, whether among
religionists or politicians* He is not
the author uf it, it proceeds from be-
neath, from the father of lies. No
good man will seek to oppress the
good, the pure, the virtuous, nor lend
himself as a tool lor that purpose.
We arc seeking for those things that
tend to exalt, ennoble and purify the
human family. We say to others,
get out of our way; let us alone.
Hug your creeds ! hug your tyranny !
hug j'our corruptions and lies to your
bosoms, but let us alone. That is all
we ask and mean to have it, for the
right and the might, and virtue and
truth will prevail; and iniquity, error,
tyranny and oppress ioti will by and
by *be laid low, and Zion will rise and
triumph, while the wicked and cor-
rupt are writhing and weltering in
the results of their own acts.
They would sympathize with us!
We don t ask their sympathy ; reserve
it for yourselves. They wo til d purify
us ! What by ? By their whoredoms
here right in our midst ! By their
drunkenness, by their gambling, by
their hells of infamy which they have
introduced, and which are sustained
by legal authority here. That is the
course they are taking. " My soul,
enter not thou into their secret ; my
honor, with them be not thou united!"
Talk about our bidies here associating
with such wretches as they ! No
never! no never!! no never!!! They
will not mingle with harlots, they
have come of another stock, they are
inspired by other feelings, motives
and views; they can't bow to it.
Let. them take their rottenness to
their own dens and wallow in it, we
want not hi Jig to do with it! They can
take their pity and everything else
they have got and stuff themselves
with it, and I hope that our sisters
here, both young and aged, have en-
ough respect for themselves to keep
out of the company and society of
such corrupt wretches* I don't think
it is necessary to say s^, but these are
my feelings and I tell them* *
The Lord has given us a work to
do, and by his he!p we shall do it.
He has placed the Gospel of life and
salvation in our hands, and we have
carried it from the rivers to the end
of the earth without begging all over
the world for a little help and charity.
We can go trusting in God. The
elders of this church, whom I see
around me, have wandered over this
wide world, trusting in the Almighty
for their support, and he has been
with them, and they don't need to
cringe and bow, and lie, aud mis-
represent to get somebody to give
them a little money to help them on
with their religion.
We believe in the great truths
which God has revealed for the sal-
vation of the human family; we are
engaged in building up and establish
OUR RELIGION* FROM GOD NOT MAN, ETC.
ing the "Kingdom of God on the
earth , The great Eloheitn is our
father, friend and benefactor; we lean
Upon his arm, and we know that he
will guide and direct, influence and
control the affairs of his people, there-
fure we rely upon hira. We have en-
gaged in nothing but what we have
been directed by the Almighty in,
except some of us who have got aside
into transgression. We are married
to our wives and don't want any
other associations. We respect and
honor them, we cleave unto them,
and we will do so in time and
throughout all eternity, (Congre-
ation said "amen,") Some of oor
miserable apostates may shake and
tremble in their boots when somebody
at the East tells them what is going
to come. They may break their
covenants with God and their wives,
and forsake them. We are not afraid
of these things, wo have learned a
lesson, not in their school. We can't
forsake those whom God has given to
us, but we will cleave to them for
ever and for ever, worlds without
end. That is our view ; that is
mine. I have no covenants to vio-
lates nobody to forsake. This people's
God is my God, their religion is my
religion, where they go I hope to be
found, where they live I wish to live,
where they die I want to be buried.
I want to be associated with them in
time and in eternity, I don't believe
in the God of the religions of this
world, nor in their heaven, nor in any.
thing pertaining to it. I don't want
to go to a heaven "beyond the bounds
of time and space." [1 don't want to
worship a God " without body, parts i
or passions." I have no reverence
for him. I don't want anything to
do with him, They can worship him
and go to their own heaven, and
let ns alone.
I will tell you what we have to do
as Latter-day Saints — live our re-
ligion, keep the commandments of
God and be virtuous. Do not mingle
with these abominations that have
been imported into your midst, keep
away from them and let them alone,
and let the wicked and corrupt wal-
low in their wickedness and cor-
ruption. Have nothing to do with
it. Don't go to their bills, assemb-
lies or associations, keep apart from
them and let them alone, they are
not worthy of your association. We
live in a purer atmosphere, we breathe
a purer air, we worship another God,
we have another religion, one
that is very willing and liberal
enough to extend to all the
rights that all men want, but we will
, not associate with them in their cor-
ruption and infamy. They may
wallow on "Whiskey" St, and have
their whore houses if they like, and
be sustained if they so choose by
judicial authority, but God deliver us
from them ! We want nothing to do
with them, I am ashamed of such
things, and did think once there was
some decency amoug men, but I am
changing my opinion. Let us cleave
to our religion and humble ourselves
before God, pray to him, keep his
commandments, and be virtuous and
pure and holy ! Remember your
prayers, be true and faithful to each
other and to your covenants, keep the
commandments of the Almighty, and
the blessings of Israel's God will rest
upon you, and no power this side of
hell or the other side either shall
harm you. It is our duty to serve
God; it is God's duty to take care of
his Saints, and he will say to all
powers that may be arrayed against
you, as he did to the mighty swelling
flood, "Hitherto shall thou go and no
further, and here shall thy proud
waves be stayed."
We are in the hands of God, and
our enemies are in the hands of God,
we are all in the hands of the
£70
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES
Almighty, and he will sustain the
right, and Israel shall be victorious,
therefore you n«d not trouble about
what this man or the other man, or this
combination or the other combination
can do, they can do nothing but what
God will let them ; for the God we
serve is not dead, he lives yet, and
be hears the prayers of his servants,
and he will stand by and save and
deliver them, and Israel shall rejoice
and truth shall prevail, and the king-
dom of God will roll onward, and the
purposes ot God will be accomplished.
The potsherds of the earth may strive
with the potsherds of the earth ; bat
in interfering; with righteousness and .
virtue they may run against the
fierce bosses of Jehovah's buckler,
and he will tell them by and by to :
"Stand back, touch not mine anoin-
ted, and do my prophets no harm I"
He will deliver Israel and his Saints
shall be joyful in him.
Brethren, God bless Israel! I though t
I would like to say a few words to ;
you. Be not timid, any of you, for
God is on the side of right, and be
will protect his people; and let their
enemies look out ! Don't fight ! You
need not think anything about that.
Fear God and keep your powder dry,
but don't shoot anybody. Be ready
always. Watch everybody in all
their operations. Be quick, lively-
and energetic, but you need not fear.
We want no vigilant societies here,
nor blood tubs, nor " Pluguglies," nor
Ku-Klux, nor John Brown raids, nor
Jay hawkers, as they frequently have
down east and west and south. We
don't want any secret organizations
of any kind, nor any infractions of
law. t j
Let others be breakers of the law, 1
and us the keepers of it, let others
trample underfoot human rights, and
us maintain them. If we were in
Russia we would take all the liberty ,
they would give to us, and we will
take all we can get here, and the re-
mainder we will contend for, and wo
will keep contending for it until
honor and honesty and truth can hold
up their heads unabashed before the
world, and until all that love honor,
; truth, integrity, pore and correct
principles and equal rights shall be
exalted and the wicked be put down*
j These are the things we are con-
tending for, and we will keep con-
tending for them as long as we live,
and we will instruct our children after
us to contend for them. If others
want to play the part of tyrants let
them do so and they will find the
tyrant's end. It is for us to keep the
commandments of God, and in doing
that we need not break the laws of the
land. Why, bless your souls, we can
live anything that anybody else can !
We profess to be governed by a high-
er law, let us move in a higher
atmosphere ; and let these miserable
dogs take their course, pursue their
own path and do as they please. We
can submit to anything that they
can. Don't be troubled, you need
not be hurt. We do not propose to
leave here ; they are not able to
rob us of all. They may do a little
stealing. They have laid out great
plans, but they will accomplish very
little. We can stand it if they can.
fj would rather be the man that was
robbed than the robber; I would
rather be stolen from than be the
thief; I would rather be the oppressed
than the oppressor ; I would rather
suffer wrong than do wrong. And if
they can stand these things we can,
and let us do it manfully and
woman fully.
I am glad there is a little spirit
among our sisters, and that they dare
say their souls are their own, I don't
like to see people sneaking about with
their heads down, and fretting about
every little wind that blows. It will
be all right with us, never fear. We
ORDER, ETC
271
will live so far above them that
they can't touch us; and their in-
famies will be so plain that they will
be proclaimed on the housetops, and 1
everybody will be ashamed of them
as we are to-day* May God help us
to do right and to be faithful in keep*
ing his commandments, in the name
of Jesus, Amen.
DISCOURSE BY ELDER ORSON PRATT,
Delivered ix the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City,
April 9, 1871.
(Reported hj David IF. Evans, Transcribed hy Masters Feram&rz
Young and John Q. Cannon.)
ORDER— SPIRITUAL GIFTS — TEMPLES — THE NEW JERUSALEM.
Brethren, sisters, and strangers, I
-wish to address you for a few mo-
ments this forenoon, and to speak
upon those things that may be put
into my mind. We, all of us, believe
that our God is a God of order, that
all things that are conducted by him
are conducted in the most perfect order,
according to law. Hence it is written
somewhere in the New Testament, I
think in the 14th chapter of Paul's
1st epistle to the Corinthians that :
** My house is a house of order and
not a house of confusion/' What we
mean by this is, that everything per-
taining to the salvation of men, which
is acceptable in the sight of heaven,
must be in accordance with strict law.
In other words, that the Lord design-
ed a work among the human family
according to those laws that were or-
dained by him from before the founda-
tion of the world. If he desires them
to be baptized with fire and with the
Holy Ghost, he has ordained a law
through and by which mankind may
be made partakers of the blessing. If
he is willing to extend mercy and
pardon to the children of men he has
ordained a law, namely, faith in his
Son Jesus Christ, in the atonement
that he wrought out in the ordi-
nances and institutions of the Gospel
that he established, requiring the
human family to repent, and reform
their lives, to pat away their sins,
break off from every manner of evil
and enter into a covenant with him
to serve him faithfully, and to mani-
fest their repentance by obeying a
certain ordinance, then comes forgive-
ness. That ordinance is baptism,
which must be performed according
to the pattern and law of heaven ; it
must not be varied from. Sprink-
ling will not do; pouring water on
the head will not do; baptism ad-
ministered by a man having no
authority from heaven will not be
accepted; it mnst be administered
according to law, order and authority,
by one who is commissioned, to whom
the Lord has spoken and to whom he
has given revelation and called to
272 JOURNAL OF
perform that work,- then it will be
acceptable, and will be acknowledged
in heaven, and be recorded in the
archives of eternity; and when the
books are opened it will be found in
those books that that man or that
woman has complied with the order
of God's house, given heed to the in-
stitutions and ordinances of his king-
dom, and having continued to do so
to the end he or she can be saved.
God has also ordained that when
he bestows upon the children of men
spiritual gifts that they must be re-
ceived in order ; they must be given
according to the laws and institutions
of the church, through the adminis-
tration of that authority and power
that he has established here on the
earth. Hence, Paul, in writing to
the paints in his day, said to them on
a certain occasion that he greatly de-
sired to visit certain branches of the
church in order that he might impart
to them some spiritual gifts. Why
not receive these spiritual gifts in some
other way ? Why not receive these
great and choice heavenly blessings
according to our own will ? Because
God is a God of order and his house
is not a house of confusion. If he
desires to bestow any great, choice
heavenly gift upon his servants and
handmaidens he has ordained an
authority and set that authority in
his church, and through the adminis-
tration of the ordinances that pertain
to that heavenly gilt they may be
made partakers thereof
God has promised in the sermon on
the mount a very great blessing to
the pure in heart : — " Blessed are the
pure in heart for they shall see God/'
How great is the blessing that is here
pronounced! They shall see God. God
is a being who is willing to reveal
himself, even to his children here on
the earth. If they will abide by law,
give heed to the ordinances that he
has ordained, and walk in consistency
DISCOURSES.
with the principles that are revealed^
they may come up to that high privi-
lege here, in time, that the vail will
be taken away and their eyes can
look on the face of the Lord, for*
they are pure iu heart. I know it is
written in other places that no man
hath seen God at any time. In the
book of Exodus it is written that "no
man shall see my face;" and then
again, the same book says that Jacob
saw God face to face and talked with
him. Again it is written that Moses
talked with the Lord face to lace as a
man talks with his friend. How shall
we reconcile these passages of scrip-
ture ? If we take the scriptures in
their true import, and according to
the general tenor of their reading,
they are easily reconciled. No na-
tural man hath seen God at any time.
A natural man could not behold the
face of the Lord in his glory, for he
could not endure it; but when a
mortal man or woman here on the
earth has put away the natural or
carnal mind ; when he or she has put
away all sin and iniquity, and has
complied with the laws and com-
mandments of God, then, like Jacob
of old, he or she may see God face to
face, and, like Moses, talk with the
Lord as one man talks with another.
It is written here in this book which
.you and I have received as a part and
portion of our role of faith and praci
tice, "The Book of Covenants," as
follows : f Verily thus saith the Lord^
it shall come to pass that every soul
that forsaketh his sins and cometh
unto me and calleth on my name and
obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my
commandments shall see my face, and
know that I am, and that I am the
true light that lighteth every man
that cometh into the world, and that
I am in the Father and the Father in
me ; and the Father and I are one.1*
Again it is written in another reve^
lation : " And in as much as my peo-
ORDER, ETC
273
pie shall build up a house unto me in
the name of the Lord, and do not
suffer any un clean thing to come into
it that it be not defiled, my glory
shall rest upon it, yea, ray presence
shall be there, for I will come into it,
and all the pure in heart that shall
corae into it shall see God ; but if it
be defiled I will not come into it and
my glory shall not be there, for I will
not corae into unholy temples, etc."
I have read these sayings, in order
that the Latter-day Saints may per-
ceive that God is willing that you
and I and the least of those that are
called Latter-day Saints, if they will
purify themselves before him and call
upon his name, keep his command-
ments, obey his institutions, comply
with the order of his house, regulat-
ing their lives and conduct by every
word that proceeds forth out of his
mouth — may rend the veil, and be
permitted to gnze upon the face of
our .Redeemer and Creator, This
was the privilege of the Saints of
God in times of old. Paul in ad-
dressing the Saints who lived in his
<3ajr writes thus:
" Ye are come unto Mount Zion,
unto the city of the living God,
to the heavenly Jerusalem, to an in-
numerable company of angels, unto
God the judge of all, and Jesus the
Mediator of the New Covenant."
What high privileges and great
blessings were conferred upon those
former-day 8aints! They had been
enabled hy their faith to come up be-
fore God and claim, not only those
common spiritual gifts that are im-
parted to the church for the mutual
edification of its members, but they
were also permitted to rise still high- j
er, by virtue of their faith, and gaze
'Upon the hea venly Jerusalem, to come
unto mount Zion, to the city of the |
living God. They could behold the
face of God, the face of the Lord
Jeans Christ, and the faces of an in-
No. 13,
numerable company of angels, — the
church of the First Born, and mingle
themselves, as it were, in their so-
ciety. All these things were obtained
through obedience to the laws and in-
stitutions that God had made mani-
fest in the midst of his house*
When the Lord commanded this
people to build a house in the land of
Kirtland, in the early rise of this
church, he gave them the pattern by
vision from heaven, and commanded
them lo build that bouse according to
that pattern and order; to have the
architecture, not in accordance with
architecture devised by men, but to
have every thing constructed in that
house according to the heavenly pat-
tern that he by his voice had inspired
to his servants. When this was com-
plied with did the Lord accept that
house? Fes! They having com-
plied with the order and built the
house according to the pattern, the
Lord condescended to grace that
house with his presence. In that
ho:;se the veil was taken away from
the eyes of many of the servants of
Got*, and they beheld his glory. In
that house the Lord Jesus Christ was
seen by some of the Elders of the
Church in heavenly vision standing
upon the threshhold of the pulpit,
proclaiming himself to be Alpha and
Omega, the first and the last, the Great
I Am, &c. And he gave keys of in-
struction and counsel and authority to
his servants, declaring unto them that
he accepted that house at their hands,
and inasmuch as they had been faith-
ful in the performance of their duty
in building a temple to his name, he
blessed them therein. He also pro-
claimed unto them that from that
house his servants should go forth
armed with the power of his priest-
hood , and proclaim the Gospel among
the various nations, and that many
people should come from the utter*
most parts of the earth and praise the
Vol XIV.
274
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
name of the Lord in Zion, and in the
midst of his house. Thus did the
Lord, when we fulfilled on our part,
fulfil bis promises on his part. So, in
the latter-days, when the Lord our
God shall permit us to build that
house of which he has spoken in the
paragraph just quoted from the Book
of Doctrine and Covenants, it shall ■
come to pass in that day that all who
are pure in heart that enter into that
house shall see God. Thus we per*
ceive that the Lord chooses to have a
house built unto his holy name,
wherein he shall manifest his glory
and power.
When Moses reared a tabernacle
in the wilderness of the land of
Egypt according to tbe pattern that
God gave unto him did the Lord
acknowledge it? He did. Didheshow
forth his power and glory in that house?
He did. Did a cloud rest upon it by
day and a pillar of flaming fire hover
over it by night ? Yes ! It was
done according to the pattern and
according to the heavenly order and
commaudment of the Great Jehovah.
Sot when the servants of God in the
last days shall bnild a house in the
the tops of the mountains, he will
acknowledge it if they build it accor-
ding to the pattern which shall be re-
vealed from heaven, on the spot that
the Lord shall designate by his own
voice, and in the time and in the sea-
son, proclaimed by the Almighty. It
shall come to pass in that day, also,
that the Lord will show forth his
glory in that house, and the fame
thereof shall go forth to the utter-
most parts of the earth : all people,
nations, languages and tongues, kings
upon their thrones, and many nations
will say, (* come let us go up to the
mountain of tbe Lord, to the house of
the God of Jacob, that he may teach
us of his ways." That is, thai he j
may inform our minds concerning the
order and laws that pertain to his 1
house and kingdom, that everything
may be done by law and authority,
that what is done here on the earth
may be acknowledged and recorded
in the heavens, for the benefit of
those who believe.
I have about five minutes more.
We read in the scriptures of divine
troth that the Lord our God is to
come to his temple in the last days,
as Mas quoted yesterday by Elder
Penrose. It is recorded in the 3rd
chapter of Malachi that " the Lord
whom ye seek shall suddenly come to
his temple." This had no reference
to the first coming of the Messiah, to
the day when he appeared in the
flesh ; but it has reference to that
glorious period termed the last days,
when the Lord will again have a
house, or a temple reared up on the
earth to his holy name. " The Lord
whom ye seek shall suddenly come to
his temple, but who shall abide the
day of his coming ? Who shall stand
when he appears ? For he is like the
refiner's fire and like fuller's soap.
He shall sit as a refiner and purifier
of silver upon the sons of Levi ; that
they may offer an offering unto the
Lord in righteousness. Then shall
the offering of Judah and Jerusa-
lem be pleasant unto the Lord
as in days of old and as in for-
mer years." The Lord intends to
have a temple not only in Zion, but,
according to this, in old Jerusalem ;
and he intends that the sons of Levi
shall receive their blessings — the bless-
ings of their priesthood that were
conferred upon them in that temple;
and he is determined that the ministers
in that temple shall be purified as
gold and silver is purified, and he is
determined to sit as a refiner's fire in
the midst of that temple. So it will
be in the temple in Zion, for behold
in the last days the Lord will rear up
Zion upon the American continent,
and he will also rear up Jerusalem on
ORDEB, ETC.
275
the eastern hemisphere. Zion on the
western continent will be the place
where the Lord will also purify and
tfeanse these two priesthoods, — the
priesthood of Levi and the priesthood
of Melchizedec — the lower and the
higher priesthood, — and they will be
filled with the glory of God upon
Mount Zion in the Lord's house.
Let me read a few passages in the
Book of Covenants. Thirty- nine years
ago a revelation was given, a passage
or two of which I will now read ; " A
revelation of Jesas Christ unto his
servant Joseph Smith and six Elders,
as they united their minds and lifted
np their voices on high. Yea the
word of the Lord concerning his
church, established in the last days
for the restoration of his people, as he
has spoken again by the month of his
prophets, for the gathering of his
saints, to stand on Mount Zion, which
shall be the city of the New Jerusa-
lem, which city shall be built, be-
ginning at the temple lot which is ap-
pointed by the finger of the Lord in
the western boundaries of the State
of Mis sonri, and dedicated by the
hand of Joseph Smith and others with
whom the Lord was well pleased/*
I now notice another prediction :
" Verily this is the word of the Lord,
that the city of the New Jerusalem
shall be built op by the gathering of
the saints, beginning at this place,
even the place of the temple, which
temple shall be reared in this gene-
ration, for verily this generation shall
not all pass away until an house shall
be built unto the Lord, and a cloud
shall rest upon it, which cloud shall
bp even the glory of the Lord, which
shall fill the house/5
We will now read an item from the
sixth paragraph : " The sons of
Moses," that is, those that pertain to
the two priesthoods, " the sons of
Moses and the sons of Aaron shall
offer an acceptable offering and sacri-
fice in the house of the Lord, which
house shall be established in this
generation upon the consecrated spot,
as I have appointed ; and the sons of
Moses and of Aaron,** that is, those
who receive the two priest hoods, " shall
be filled with the glory of God upon
Mount Zton in the Lord's house,
whose sons are ye, and also many
whom I have called and sent forth to
build up my church ; for whosoever
is faithful to the obtaining of these
two priesthoods of which I have spo-
ken, and the magnifying of their call-
ing are sanctified by the spirit unto
the renewing of their bodies, that they
become the sons of Moses and of
Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and
the church and kingdom and the
elect of God," etc.
Here then we see a prediction, and
we believe it. Yes ! The Latter-day
Saints have as firm faith and rely up-
on this promise as much as they rely
upon the promise of forgiveness of
sins when they comply with the first
principles of the Gospel We just as
much expect that a city will be built,
called Zion, in the place and on the
land which has been appointed by the
Lord our God, and that a temple will
be reared or the spot that has been
selected, and the corner-stone of which
has been laid, in the generation when
this revelation was given; we just as
much expect this as we expect the
sun to rise in the morning and
set in the evening; or as much as
we expect to see the fulfillment of
any of the purposes of the Lord onr
God, pertaining to the works of his
hands. But says the objector,
"thirty-nine years have passed away.'*
What of that ? The generation has
not passed away ; all the people that
were living thirty- nine years ago have
not passed away ; but before they do
pass away this will be fulfilled.
What is the object of this Temple ?
The object is that the Lord may,
276
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES,
according to the order that he has |
instituted, unveil his face to his ser-
vants, that those that are pure in
heart and enter into that temple may
be filled with the glory of God upon
Mount Ziouin the Lord's house ; and,
finally, whatever we may be called up-
on to do, whether it be building
temples, cultivating the earth, organ-
izing ourselves into co-operative com-
panies to carry out the purposes aud
designs of Jehovah ; whether we are
sent abroad ou missions or remain at
home, it matters not, all things must
be done in order, all things must be
performed according to law, so that
they will be acceptable in the sight
of heaven, and be recorded there for
the benefit of the people of God here
on the earth. Why ? Because God
is a God of order; he is a God of '
law, God is that being that sways
his scepter over universal nature and
controls the suns and systems of suns
and worlds and planets and keeps
them moving in their spheres and or-
bits by law; and all his subjects must
comply with law here on the earth,
that they may be prepared to do his
will on the earth as his will is done
by the angelic hosts and those higher
order of intelligences that reign inn
his own presence* Amen,
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT BRIG HAM YOUNG
Deliveeed in the New Tabeenacle, Salt Lake City,
July 3, 1870.
{Reported by David W. Evam.}
DEBTS — INGRATITUDE — CONFIDENCE — OUR RELIGION.
I have a few words to say to the
Latter-day Saints with regard to bor-
rowing money and not repaying it.
The individual referred to by Brother
Carrington is not the only one who
has done this. If we were to do
justice by them I think we should de-
prive them of the fellowship of the
Saints until they learned to keep
their word and to deal honorably with
their brethren, It is bad enough,
quite bad enough, to borrow from an
enemy and not to repay him ; to do
this is beneath the character of any
human being; but all who will borrow
from a friend, and especially from the
poor, are undeserving the fellowship
of the Saints if they do not repay.
If anybody in the congregation is dis-
posed to make a motion to that effect
I certainly should put it to the
vote. Then again, I will pause. There
are circumstances that are discourag-
ing, and which naturally weaken the
faith and confidence of the Sainta,
and few things more so than to send
money to bring the poor home to Zion,
and, after teaching them how to take
care of themselves, to accumulate the
necessaries of life around them, and
when they become comfortable and
have a little to spare, for them to life
their heels against God and his An-
n oil i tod. And this is not un fre-
quently done,
I look over the congregations of the
DEBTS, ETC.
Saints as I travel through the Terri-
tory and I see quite a large percen-
tage of people who, I know, never in
tWir lives^owned a house, a foot of
land, a horse, a wagon, a carriage, an
ox, a cow, a sheep, or even a fowl.
But gather them here, make them
comfortable and put them in happy
circumstances and they often forget
their God, their covenants and their
benefnetors, I do not know of any-
one, excepting the unpardonable sin,
that is greater than the sin of in-
gratitude j and 1 do think that many
of this people are guilty of it I will
say, however, that if there he those
in this congregation who have held
out to the poor Saints any prospects
of helping them to gather, keep your
word with them*
Avery serious question frequently
arises in my mind with regard to the
character of men and women* It is
this ; " Are our characters our
own ?** We may say * yes, we form
these characters/' Suppose that we
are fortunate enough to form a good,
honest character in the minds and in
the faith of those who are acquainted
with us, do not those characters be-
long to our neighbors, although we
may be the framers of them ? And
I would like to ask ; Have we the
right to destroy them? It is a se-
rious question with me. If ne have
confidence in each other, and our con-
duct has been such that we have
created confidence in the feelings of
our neighbors towards us, have we a
right to destroy that confidence ? It
it not sacrilege ? I will simply reply
by giving my views with regard to
myself. According to the knowledge
whicu I possess it is a great deal
easier for an individual to preserve a
good character than to frame and
make one if it is lost. It, is much
easier to keep a fort when it is well
armed and defended than to give it
into the hands uf the enemy and then
277
regain it Consequently we had bet-
ter keep our characters, if they are
good, than to suffer the enemy to rob
us of them.
Now, to the Latter-day Saints, I
will say that when yon received the
Gospel in foreign lands you received
no more, in comparison, than a child
receives at school when he learns his
first lesson. If he masters the alpha*
bet bethinks he is progressing finely.
If the Saints receive the alphabet
abroad they are doing well. When
they come here they have more to
learn. The school we are in will
never cense; the lessons we have to
learn will never be less than those
which we have received: they will
never end ; consequently it is impor-
tant that wc school and train our-
selves until we are in subjection to
the mind and will of heaven.
In passing through the world I see
that the most of parents are very
anxious to govern and control their
children. As far as my observations
have gone I have seen more parents who
were unable to control themselves than
I ever saw who were unable to control
their children. If a mother wishes to
control her child, in the first place
let her learn to control herself, then
she may besuccesstul in bringing the
child into perfect subjection to her
will But if she does not control
herself how can she expect a child, —
an infant in understanding — to be
more wise, prudent and better than
one of grown age and matured ? I
think it would be asking too much.
If we will school ourselves and bring
our own tempers and dispositions into
subjection we &hall then have in-
fluence to do good, over the minds of
our acquaintances ; but if we do not
control ourselves how can we have in-
fluence over others? You let two
men meet, for instance, say two
neighbors, between whom there is a
difficulty, and one is full of anger and
278 JOURNAL OF
wrath and he is ready to settle the
matter on the spot ; but the other one,
calm and quiet in feeling, says:
" Neighbor, stop a moment, let us
look at and reason on this subject ; I
perceive that you are angry this mor-
ning, yon are not m a good temper,
and are not in a situation now to
consider this matter justly. Wait a
few moments and see if this evil in-
fluence will depart from you. We will
then endeavor to revise this matter
thoroughly and learn who is to
blame." Now the one who is calm
and full of judgment, discretion and
patience pretty soon overcomes the
opposite influence. Which of the two
has the mastery? The one who is
angry or the one who is full of
patience? Why, the one who is
angry at once submits in his own
feelings to his superior. Who is the
superior ? The one who has possess-
ed his soul If we take this course
we will gain influence.
But we do know, the Christian
knows, the heathen Lnows, and the
whole world of mankind knows, and
it is acknowledged by all, that confi-
dence is lost ; the members of the hu*
man family have not confidence in
each other, as nations, individuals,
kings, potentates, statesmen, or as |
officers of governments ; and I ara
sorry to say that people have not
confidence in each other as Christians.
Confidence is lost The work in
which you and I have enlisted is to
restore confidence in the minds of the
people; and when I hear of circum-
stances transpiring in which brethren
forfeit their word I regard it as a blot
upon the character of this people. We
should keep our word with each other*
And if we have difficulty of mis-
understanding with each other, talk
it over, canvass the subject thorough- j
ly, seriously and discreetly, and we
shall find that all difficulties will be
remedied in this way easier than any
DI3COUK3F*.
other; and we shall also find that
nearly every difficulty that arises in
the midst of the inhabitants of the
earth, is through misunderstanding;'
and if a wrong in intent and design
really exists, if the matter is can-
vassed over in the manner I have
ad vised 9 the wrong-doer is generally
willing to come to terms*
This restoration of confidence de-
volves upon us, then let us do what
we can in our humble sphere to do fo
among ourselves in the first place, and
by-and-by it will reach to others. I
am happy to say that those who are
not of us have a great deal more con-
fidence in us, in many respects, I
mean as business men and traders,
than in any other community on this
continent; and I do not believe that
tli ere is a community in the whole of
Christendom, the members of which
pay their debts as well as the Latter-
day Saints* But they are not up to
the mark, and are defaulters in many
respects; yet they may not he nearly
so much to blame as outward appear-
ances seem to indicate, for there are
so many men who will deal on' pros-
pect, really 1 relieving that their busi-
ness matters are so propitious and
promising thr.t they m\\ be able to
make both ends meet and accomplish
all their designs. Such persons have
mote confidence in themselves and in
future fortune than they should have;
and through this the Latter-day Saints
oftentimes fail m their business trans-
actions and engagements with one
another. How desirable it is that we
should be prompt with each other in
every respect ! Failure in this is
often the source of ill feeling and of
a bad reputation. How often I have
heard the saying, from my youth up,
" There is a -bad neighbor," or "snctf
a one is a bad neighbor!" But in
most of such cases which have come
under my notice, I have learned that
the " bad neighbor," wants that re-
DEBTS. ETC,
279
turned which others have borrowed,
and at the time they have promised ;
and if they were not prompt and true
to their word he speaks uncomfortable
words and gets angry. And, as B
general thing, I have found that " bad
neighbors M in a country are, in nearly
every case, men who are very prompt,
and because others are not so, diffi-
culties arise; for instance, 3Ir. A.
goes to Mr. B# and says, M Can I bor-
row your hoe, plow or wagon of you to-
day ? " Says Mr. B., " Yes sir, you c*tn
have it, if yon will return it in the eve-
ning, for I shall want it early to-morrow
morning." But to-morrow morning
comes and the plow is not brought
home, and here stands the team and
the hired man and boy waiting for it,
and thus anger is created. These
little burs should be put tip. It is
hard for us to enjoy that spirit of
peace that we should enjoy unless we
are very prompt in our dealings with
each other. We sometimes say to
the brethren, "We do not see nor
understand how in the world you can
enjoy your religion unless you have
a good fence around your garden; you
have a fine garden with good vege-
tables and fruits growing, but no fence
around it." " Well, it is the law here
for people to take care of their cattle."
" Yes, but they don't do it." In this
garden there may be a patch of beans
coming on finely, or some young fruit
trees growing thriftily. The owner
of the garden gets down on his knees
for morning prayer, and presently he
hears a rush round the house. u What
is the matter ?" " Why cattle are in
the garden," I think he cannot pray
much. It destroys the spirit of pray-
er and takes peace from him. But
let him put a good fence around his
garden, orchard or field and he can
kneel down and pray in peace, and
ask his heavenly Father for the
blessings he wants, and not be inter-
rupted, and the devil is fenced out.
Well, in all these things guard against
temptation, against this loose :ife, and
be prompt in everything, and es-
pecially to pay your debts.
The Perpetual Emigrating Fund is
not doing anything this season.
But it is painful to hear the cries,
wishes wants and importunities of the
poor Saints. If we will do right
we shall have abundance to gather
the poor, They must all have a
chance, although many of them for-
sake their God, deny their Savior,
torsake their brethren and turn away
and become traitors, yet they must
have their chance. Gather them,
give them all the chance possible for
life and salvation, and if they receive
it right, blessed are they ; it' they re-
ject it, their blood be upon their own
garments*
I want to say a few words with re-
gard to our religion, our spiritual
faith and belief, to my friends who
are here, I am accosted frequently
with the expression, " I think you
have done wonders here, but I do not
believe anything of your religion.**
Now, you certainly do. There is not
an intidel in the world but who be-
lieves in uur religion more or less;
and the same is true of the heathen
and also ot professing Christians and
their ministers ; but they do not know
how to define it. They believe in a
God, bur they do not know how to
define that God. If they tarn to the
Bible and read, it will tell what God
is; it vvill describe the character and
form of the very God that the
Christians serve. He has a body,
parts and passions; he has feelings,
sensibility, principle, attributes, and
powers and this Bible proves it de-
finitely to every person who really
believes the Bible is true.
Do the Christian world believe in
the Son of God — the Savior of the
world ? They say they do, and we
certainly do ; and we also believe that
280
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
he came and died for sinners — died »
to save the world. Do the Christian
world believe it ? Yes, they say they
do. Do not we believe alike? Yea.
They do not know how to define it,
bat we do. Do they believe in the
gifts and graces of God ? They cer-
tainly do. 1 have heard ministers be-
gin to preach and read from the scrip-
tures and give their interpretations
of what the Lord meant. 1 have
said to them " there must be more
revelation in the world than ever be*
fore, for how can you tell what the
Lord means, if you do not read it, un-
less he tells you?1* Here is the
word of inspired men, but you say it
does not mean what it says. I be-
lieve it means what it says, where it
is translated correctly. I believe that
inspired men snid what they meant,
and meant what they said. I believe
that Jesus said precisely what he
meant, and meant precisely what he
said. Do Christians believe this ?
They say they do, and I have heard min-
isters of the gospel declare that they
believed everv word in the Bible was
the word of God. I have said to
them iL you believe more than I do."
I believe the words of God are theie ;
I believe the words of the devil are
there; I believe that the words of
men and the words of angels are
there; and that is not all, — 1 believe
that the words of a dumb brute are
there, I recollect one of the prophets
riding, and prophesyingagaints Israel,
and the animal he rode rebuked his
madness.
Do you believe all this is the word of
God ? If you do you certainly believe
more than I do. The words of the Lord
are the words of the Lord, and the rev-
elations God lias given concerning
himself are true. When Moses
wrote and said that man was formed
precisely in the image of God he
wrote the truth. We are the child-
ren of our father,— his offspring, of
the same family; we belong to him
by birthright, and we are his child-
ren and Jesus is our brother. Does
the Bible tell all this ? Just as plain
as words can tell any thin!?. The
Christian world do believe "Mormon-
ism," and M Mormonism " is the truth,
" Where is your code, your par-
ticular creed,11 says one. It tills eter-
nity; it is all truth in heaven, on
earth or in hell. This is " Mormon*
ism." It embraces every true science
and all true philosophy. Is this so?
Certainly it is ; but vain philosophy
is the result of vain conjurations of
the brains of men. How often we
hear men philosophise about what
would have been suppose we had not
been here, and suppose the earth had
not been made, and suppose Adam
had not come into the garden of
Eden, and suppose he had not
slimed, what would have been the
condition of the world ! Always ar-
guing from false premises, and on a
false foundation. Facts are facts,
and we might as well argae that there
is not a railway across this contin-
ent to carry the people and goods as
to argue that Adam was not in the
garden of Eden, that he did not fall,
that sin is not in the world or that
Jesus is not the Christ. The negative
of these propositions is hard to prove,
but the affirmative is easy to prove
and comprehend, and easy to under-
stand and live by.
Well, I will say that our religion is
nothing more nor less than the true
order of heaven — the system of laws
by which the Gods and the angels are
governed. Are they governed by
law? Certainly. There is no being
in all the eternities but what is gov-
erned by law. Who is it who de-
sires to have liberty and no ta\v ?
They who are from beneath. This is
what Lucifer, the Son of the Mor-
ning, wanted. He wanted to save
i the world without law, to redeem the
DEBTS, ETC
281
world without order. There must be
law, order, rules and regulations;
there must be a system of govern-
ment; and, to have a kingdom of
God on the earth, there must be a
king, and subjects to rule, and terri-
tory for those subjects to dwell upon.
These things comprise the kingdom
of God, the embryo of which is now
being formed by the Latter-dny
Saints, by the will of the Father, by
the power of God ; and they will en.
dure and truth will prevail, and we
need not be afraid as to the result.
True science, true art and true
knowledge comprehend nil that are in
heaven or on the earth, or in all the
eternities* By these all beings exist,
whether they be celestial, terrestial or
telestial; or whether they are from
beneath and dwell with the devils
among the damned. All truth is
ours, Now, if anybody wants to
make a trade, come on ! If you have
truths, and 1 have errors, I will give
ten errors for one truth, I have said
a great many times to my friends,
* if I have errors bring on your
truth." I have embraced the Gospel
of the Son of God, by the world ter-
med " Mormonisn," simply because it
is true ; and there is no power, no
argument, no true philosophy, no
principle of science, there is no truth
from heaven, no word of God or of
angels that says to the contrary ; but
all agree that this is the word of
God, this is the power of God,
this is life everlasting; and we
can say, as it was said in old times,
"This is eternal life to know the on-
ly wise and true God and Jesus Christ
whom he has sent," and thanks be to
God we are tolerably well acquainted
with him, and with the principles
which he has revealed fur the gui-
dance and salvation (if the children of
men. He extends life and salvation
to all, and says, " Come to me all ye
ends of the earth and be ye saved,"
Is there any person excused, any left
out of doors, to whom no invitation is
sent ? Not one. It was a marvel to
me, when I first, believed, how it was
that professing Christians in the world
need to repent. But I took this
ground in my own mind, and I car-
ried it out S:iid I, " If I have no
sins to repent of let rae repent of that
religion that I have embraced that is
not true." So we say to all others.
If you have been righteous from your
birth up, and have never committed
known sins and transgressions, be
baptized to fulfil all righteousness, as
Jesus was. If you can s?jy you have
no sins to repent of, forsake your
false theories, and love and serve God
with an undivided heart.
God bless you, A in en.
i
282
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
DISCOURSE BY ELDER JOSEPH P. SMITH,
Delivered is the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Septembsb 3, 1871
(Reported by David W. Evans.)
NO TIME TO DO WRONG — SAVE TiiE CHILDREN.
I have been unexpectedly called
npm to stand before you to give ex-
pression to iny feelings, and I trust
while so doing that I may be led by
the spirit of the Lord. It behoves
u Mormon n Elders to be always pre-
pared,— " minute men," for they do
not know at what moment they may
be called upon to perform some duty
connected with their calling. The
Savior admonished his apostles and
followers, saying, " Be ye always
ready," and he illustrated it by a
parable to the effect that if the good
man of the house knew the hour the
thief would come he woukl be pre*
pared for him, and his house would
not be broken open. So with the
Latter-day Saints, and especially those
who bear the priesthood, for they are
liable, at any time, to be called upon
to go and preach the Gospel to
foreign nations, or to s;efc up in the
midst of the Saints to bear testimony
of the truth, to exhort to faithfulness
and diligence, and to show forth the
light that is in them in persuading
their fellow. beings to do that which
is right in the sight of God- We
should be prepared all the day long
for any emergency, no matter whether
it be life or death. Life is very un-
certain with us, we do not know this
moment what the nest may bring
forth ; therefore the religions of the
day will not answer for the Latter-
day Saints any more than they will
answer, in reality, for those who
profess to believe in them, because
they are unsound. It behoves us as
the children of God to be always pre-
pared for every duty and for every
event that may transpire in life, that
we may not be taken unawares,
caught off our guard or out of the
path that leads to eternal life* The
Lord may call us when we little
think of it, or require labors at
our hands when we are not pre-
pared ; which would be an awkward
position, and very unpleasant to a per-
son who had any regard for his char-
acter, before God, and in the society
of his friends. There is no time to
lay off the armor of Christ ; there is
not a moment in the lives of the
children of men when they can afford
to serve the devil; it is alwavs the
best to be on our guard, be honest,
and honorable in the sight of God
and mau, which is the path of
safety.
Not because honesty is the best
policy, but because it is the duty of
every individual on the tace of the
earth to be so; and because, so far as we
the Latter-day Saints are concerned,
we have voluntarily covenanted with
the Lord to keep his commandments
and to forsake sin. We have done
this because we have been convinced
that this is the only way to find
favor with God and to obtain sal-
vation in his presence.
Then there is no time to swear, no
time to cheat our neighbor or to take
NO TIME TO DO
WRONG, ETC.
283
advantage of him, there is no time to
waste and fritter away in foolishly de-
corating oar bodies, or to acquire
means to devote to that which will
grieve the Spirit of the Lord and dis-
qualify ns to receive solid blessings \
from his hands. The Latter-day
Saints have no time to drink
whisky, or to waste in following the
silly fashions of the world. There is
too much to do and too many labors
for us to perform to have time for !
any tiling of this nature. Yet how
often do we see those who profess to be
Lattrr-day S tints, — who should be
the servants and handmaids of God, —
those who have received the holy
priesthood, turning away from the
path of rectitude and following after
the foolish fashion?, frivolities and
vices of a corrupt and depraved
world ? I am sorry to say that this is
seen too often ! But if there was only
a single instance of it among all the
Latter-day Saints it would be too
often, for, as I have already snid, we
have no time for anything of the
kind. The world is before us, where-
in are millions of our fellow-beings m 1
darkness, who have never had the
privilege of hearing the truth. We
are chosen to be ministers of the
Gospel unto them. Every man and
woman who professes to be a believer
in the Gospel revealed in this last
dispensation should live so that their
light may shine; their character
should lio such that no one on earth
could take exceptions from it. They
should live pure, holy, virtuous lives
before God. Their acts should speak
louder than it is possible to speak
with words, their conduct should
evince the truth and sincerity of their
professions. But when people come
into our midst what difference do thev
tr
see between ihe conduct oi many cal-
ling themselves Latter-day Saints,
and that of the world at large ? Not
any. Says the stranger, " I do not
see but yon 'Mormons' are about the
same as other people. You can smoke
cigars, frequent whisky and billiard
saloons, or perchance gambling places
(if any), and take the name of God
in vain, the same as anybody else."
And I have been told that if you go
into these places you will be almost
sure to find there some who are called
"Mormons;" young men, and old,
sons of the prophets, if you please,
and that this practice is increasing in
Salt Lake City, — the central city of
Zion where dwell the priesthood and
the authority delegated by heaven for
preaching the Gospel and ad mistering
the ordinances thereof, for the sal-
vation of tlio children of men. What
difference, then, can they see between
these and other folks? for it is this
class that they do see, and yet many
that are falling into these disreputable
habits are men who hold the priest ~
hood, — Elders in Israel and their
sons; and perhaps strangers who come
here have seen and heard some of
them preacliing the Gospel abroad,
and when they come here they find
them spending their time and means
in whisky and billiards, and in other
foolish and wicked ways: — indeed
every way but the right way. What
do such habits speak for men who
indulge in them? Shame and dis-
grace. I want to tell my brethren
and the strangers before me to-day
that we have no fellowship for any
such men, no matter who they are*
They may call themselves Latter-day
Saints, and you may have seen them
abroad preaching the Gospel ; but
when you find them indulging in the
course I have indicated they have
fallen, dishonored their calling, dis-
graced themselves ; they are no longer
Latter-day Saints, but apostates, and
we have no fellowship with them, for
they are unworthy of the Redeemer's
cause. That cause has for its object
the reclaiming of the world from sin ;
I
284
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
the over hi miner of everything that,
tends to degredation and evil and to
the shame and degeneracy of the peo-
ple, and the Saints are the chosen in-
itruments in God's hands to accom-
plish tli is work, and we mean to pro-
secute it to the uttermost — to fight
the good tight of faith, and though
many may turn aside the work is on-
ward and upward, and it will grow
and spread until the purposes of God
are consum mated. He has commenced
his great work, — his strange work
and his wonder, and he will roll it
forth with rapidity and will consu-
mate his plans in the day in which
he has set his hands to gather his
people, and that is this day, the even-
ing of time — the closing moments
of the last hour of the seventh day as
it were. We are living in that event-
ful time, and the Lord has set his
hand to gather his people. He has
called them forth out of Babylon.
His voice is calling aloud to the in-
habitants of the earth to come out of
Babylon that they receive not of her
plagues and that they partake not of
her sins.
We do not want to bring Babylon
here — the gathering place appointed
by the Lord for his people ; but we
want to take every precaution and to
adopt every preventive measure in
our power to ittay the inroads of the
evils which characterize Babylon,
which are so condemned in the laws
of God, and which are so repugnant
to the spirit of the gospel. We do
Dot want these things here ; but we
are not supreme; we cannot govern
as we would wish. Not that we de-
sire to rule with an irou hand, oppres-
sively. It would not be oppression to
me, for the proper authorities to say,
— 44 You shall not take intoxicating
liquors; you shall neither manufac-
ture nor drink them, for they are
injurious to your body and mind,*'
nor would it be to any Saint — but
what oppression it would be to a cer-
tain cla^s ! Yet I hope to see the day
when, within the pale of the kingdom
of God, no man will be allowed to
take intoxicating liquor; and make —
I was uoing to say, a least of himself.
But I do not name it, rather to make
a degraded man of himself. Beasts
would not degrade themselves as men
do. The habits of the brutes arc de-
cent in the eves of God and angels
hen compared with the conduct of
drunken, debauched men, who pollute
mind and body by the commission of
every species of vice and crime. I
want to see the day when no man in
the midst of this people will be allow-
ed to touch intoxicating drink to be-
come drunken. But if we we were
to attempt to enforce this rule, wliafc
would be the hue and cry? "Tyranny,
and oppression;" and armies would
be sent here to use up the "Mor-
mons and yet if such a rule could
be enforced it would be a blessings
and no mnn can deny it; and if it
were enforced it would only be carry-
ing out the principles of " Mormon-
ism. >
Do the "Mormons0 drink it?
Yes, to their shame, disgrace and the
violation of their covenants, some of
them do; and while on this subject I
will say that no one supposes for a
moment that a confirmed and unre-
pentant drunkard will ever be per-
mitted within the gates of the celestial
city. We all understand this, but I
want to bear my testimony that those
who prostitute mind and body by the
debasing use of intoxicating drinks
and the crimes and evils to which it
leads will never have part in the
celestial kingdom, "But," says one^
"did not some of the ancients get
* boozy* once in a while?" If they did
they had to repent of it. I do not
excuse them any more than I would
you or myself, tor taking a course of
this kind. Yet God sees as we can
XO TIME TO DO WRONG, ETC.
285
not see- He takes all things into
consideration, He does not judge par-
tially as we are liable to do. When
He 'places a man in the balance He
weights him righteously, but when we
judge a man we are apt to judge tin-
righteously, because we are not om-
niscient. But what necessity is there
for a healthy person to take intoxicat-
ing liquor ? Does it ever do him any
good ? No, never. But does it never
do any good to use liquor ? I do not
say that. When it is used for wash-
ing the body according to the revela-
tions God has given, and when ab-
solutely necessary if used with wisdom
for sickness, it may do good, but
when it is used to the extent that it
destroys reason and judgment it is
never used with impunity. All who
thus use it then violate an immutable
law, the penalty of which must in-
evitably follow the transgressor. It is
against this practice that I am speak-
ing. If there be any guilty of it here
this afternoon, and I have no doubt
there are, I wish them to take warn-
Is intemperance the only evil that
is making an inroad among the Latter-
day Saints? No, I will tell yon
another. When coming up here to
meeting I noticed in the neighbor-
hood of forty boys between my house
and this Tabernacle who were sitting
in the shade, on the ro:id sides,
lounging in groups — hanging around
the corners. Who are they ? They
are boys who have been been born in
the valleys and their parents claim to
be Latter-day Saints, I asked myself,
*' What is the character of the fathers
and mothers of these boys?" and I
came to the conclusion that they are
hypocrites or apostates, and I can
come to no other. Why ? If they
practised what they professed to be-
lieve they would teach their sons cor-
rect principles, and their religious
duties — to attend meeting on the
Sabbath and use their time in a pro-
fitable and Christianlike manner, in-
stead of turning them out to contract
habits which will ruin them and make
them infidels. Now the parents of
these boys have either apostatized and
do not care enough about their chil-
dren to teach them correct principles;
or, while professing to be Latter-day
Saints, by their acts regard the sal-
vation of the gospel as worthless and
therefore they are hypocrites and need
to repent in either ense,
I would advise my brethern, and I
take the advice to myself, to look
after their sons as well as their
daughters, and see where they are on
the Sabbath; see that they do not go
a fishing, riding or hunting, or waste
their time in idleness, contracting
pernicious and injurious habits, — -
habits that will lead them to de-
struction, so that when we are called
upon to answer for the time and
talents God has given us we may not
be found wanting; and when it is
asked, " Did you train your children
in the nurture and admonition of the
Lord?" "Did you set an example
worthy of imitation, that their blood
may not be on your skirts?" and
you can answer, " Yes Lord, I did all
in my power to teach my children
and to rear them in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord. I did all in
my power to make men and women
of them who would honor the name
of God." If this course be taken by
parents very few children will be tin-
controlable; or come to the terrible
end that awaits them if parents ne-
glect them and show by their course
that they had as lief they would go to
the devil as not.
I can see where this is tending.
It is to unbelief, immorality and abo-
minations of every kind ; and I am
sorry to see that it is increasing ra-
ther than diminishing among us+ I
preached about this a few months
286 JOURNAL OF
ago, and I will keep the subject be-
fore the brethren and sisters, if ena-
bled by tbe good Spirit, until they
will prize their children enough to
look after them, and to know where
they are and what they are doing,
and that the company they keep is
such as they ought to keep, and that
they attend to their duties, for they
have duties to attend to as well as
you and I have. If we, as parents,
controlled our children as well as
many parents in the sectarian world ,
do theirs, they would not only be
taught to regard the Sabbath day as
holy, and thereby keep the command-
ment of God, but they would come
to meeting and listen to the instruc-
tions given, store their minds with
knowledge and an understanding of
the truth, instead of going in gangs ,
about the streets, using obscene lan- j
guage, throwing rocks at and scuf-
fling with each other, going riding,
walking, fishing, hunting, &e., on the ,
Sabbath day, and taking a course
which will lead to confirmed idleness,
drunkenness, profanity, and even
blasphemy and every abomination,
for the devil will *' find mischief for
idle hands to do," just as sure as you
are born,especially among the children.
Now, my brethren and sisters, will
you try to take care of your children,
and look after them on the Sabbath
day, see where they are, bring them
to meeting and teach them some-
thing they do not know ? I recol-
lect, when on my mission in Eng-
land, I visited a number of my rela-
tives there. They were what we
call sectarian ; they did not believe
the true Gospel ; they did not believe
that God could or would speak from
the heavens in this dispensation, nor
that an angel had visited the earth j
in this day, nor that the Gospel had
been restored in its ancient purity
and perfection, nor that the priest-
hood was restored again, and that
DISCOURSES,
men were legitimately authorized to
officiate in the ordinances of the house
of God for the salvation of mankind.
But what a great contrast there was
between the way they trained their
children and the way some of us train
ours! They made no pretensions to
new revelation or to special accept-
ance with God, but when the Sab-
bath day came their children were
called in, and if they did not go to
meeting, they were taught to take a
book and read, and the parents sat
down and taught them, and they
read hy turns and explained passages
of Scripture and history, and they
talked to and instructed one another,
and thus they spent the day, and
when evening came the children had
learned something, their minds were
improved, and they were better than
when the day began. The course I
am denouncing is not general, but
there is far too much of it. If we
turn out our children on the Sabbath
for a holiday, careless where they are
or what they are doing, God will not
hold us guiltless, Children are sub-
ject to their parents, and the parents
are responsible for the conduct of
their children until they arrive at
years of maturity.
Look after your children, brethren
and sisters, and when winter comes,
in two or three months from now, see
there are not five or six hundred
children skating and sliding in the
streets on the Sabbath. It was so
last winter. This is not the way for
Latter-day Saints to train their child-
ren ; it is not living our religion, and
herein we come under condemnation
before God, and it is where men and
women point the finger of scorn at
us. They say, "Here are men and
women who profess to have received
revelation from God, and they are
letting their children go to the devil
as fast as they can, and care nothing
about them."
NO TIME TO DO WRONG, ETC- 287
Says one, " These are truths, but
they should not be told in public."
If my brethren did not want to hear
such things from me they would not
call me up to speak. Bat they do ;
that is to say, when a man will get
up and teach the people the troth,
warn them of their follies and of the
evil consequences thereof, they rejoice
in it\ hcansQ it is good, it is that
which we need. We do not want to
be palavered and soft-soaped ; we do |
not want anybody to get up here and
tell ns how good we are, for the Lord
looks at us as we are, and he will
judge us according to our works. I
want to quote to you a passage of
Scripture, the words of Jesus. Said
he, " Except your righteousness ex-
ceeds the righteousness of the Scribes
and Pharisees you can in no wise
enter the kingdom of heaven;' This
passage applies right home to us;
and unless our righteousness exceeds
the righteousness of the Scribes and
Pharisees of the day in which we
live, we will come short of the kins'-
dom of heaven as sure as we live.
We cannot expect anything better
than what we see from men and wo-
men who profess to be Latter-day
Saints, who will run after the follies
and fashions of the world, and give
tip everything in the shape ot honesty
and integrity for the sake of accumu-
lating wealth. If men and women
will do this, I do not wonder at their
children going at random on the Sab-
bat li day. I am not surprised to
hear them curse and ivvear and pro-
fane the name of God. If men and
women will run after the follies and
fashions of the svorld — if women will
paint and bedizen themselves to at-
tract the gaze of men, they have not
the spirit of the Gospel ; God is not
with them, truth will not abide with
them; they will go to hell and be
damned unless they repent, You
daughters of Israel, born of parents ,
as true to the Gospel as men and
women can be on the earth, who are
dressing and painting to show your-
selves, wasting your time and spend-
I ing your fathers1 means corruptly and
wickedly in the sight of God, he will
send a curse on you if you do not
desist. I say it in the name of Jesus
Christ. I nay the same to mothers
who encourage their daughters in
this kind of conduct, for the responsi-
bility rests more with them than
their daughters They should nofc
allow it. Says one, " I can not help
it." Bat I would help it. If a
| daughter of mine persisted in such a
course, I would put a stop to it, or I
would cat the tie between us and she
should go her own road. She should
not take my name, with my sanction,
before the world in that course, nor
would 1 be less careful of a son,
I "But," says one, " they will do it any
how." If so, Jet the responsibility be
on their own heads and not on the
parents'. Let us do our duty to our
children, train them in the way they
should go, give them the benefit of
our experience, teach them true prin- /t-
ciples and do all we can for them,
and when they reach years of main*
rity, if they walk in evil ways, we
may mourn and bewail their follies,
but we shall be guiltless before God ^
so fax as they are concerned.
Teach your children so that they
may grow up knowing what *'Mor-
monism" is, and then if they do nofc
like it, let them take what they can
find. Let us, at least, discharge our
doty to them by teaching them what
it is. The Catholics, Methodists,
Presbyterians and all the sectarian
world do it, and why should not we ?
Can you find a Catholic that will
send his children to a Protestant
school, or a Protestant who will send
his to a Catholic school ; they, each,
send their children to their own
schools, and they take all the pains
288 JOURNAL OF
and use nil the means in their power
to rear their children in their own
faith, being convinced that is the pro-
per course for them to pursua It is
right that they should do so. But
some Latter-day Saints are so liberal
and unsuspecting that they would
just as soon send their children to
Mr. Pierce down here as to anybddy
else. I would not do it However
good a man Mr, Pierce may be, he
should not tweh one of my children
as long as 1 had wisdom and intelli-
gence to teach him myself, or could
find a man of my own faith to do it
for me. This is true doctrine, and
no man can take any exceptions to
it I am talking to Latter-day Saints,
you who have covenanted to keep
the commandments of God, professed
to receive the Gospel and entered into
the Kingdom of God, by baptism ;
and I have a right to talk to you, we
have a right to talk to each other
and admonish each other. when there
is wrong, and we will do it
Then look after the children, and
our own morals and conduct, so that
we may be as a light set on a hill and
not nnder a bushel ; that we may be
the salt of the earth, that has not lost
its savor and is good for nothing. If
I were once to be seen in a brothel,
gambling hell, billiard saloon, or in
any disreputable place, would I hare
the boldness to stand in the position
I occupy to-day ? No I wotild not.
Would I have the courage if called,
to go and preach the Gospel abroad ?
No. I would bo ashamed to do it, at
least until I had made some recom-
pense and restitution for the wrong I
had done, and had satisfied God, my
brethren and my conscience by re-
newing my covenants. Suppose that
some of you Kid era who have fre-
DISCOURSE&
quented these whisky and billiard
saloons on Main Street, should be
called on missions, and when you go
you meet with people who have seen
you there! They would be very
likely to point the finger and say, *' I
saw you in a whisky shop, billiard
saloon/* or in some disreputable place,
l 'f and now you come to preach the
Gospel and set yourselves op as a
light unto the world ! n That is what
many of the so-called Christian min-
isters of the day are doing all the
time, and that is what has brought
their Christianity into such disrepute.
Ministers may take that course, but
what of their Christianity? Nothing;
it is all humbug and M bosh," and the
people know it, and the time has
come when a man has to be judged
by his works, even by his fellow
beings. If a man does not bring forth
fruits *rorthy of the profession, he
makes, do not believe in him nor
walk after him j but when you see
a man that brings forth good fruit
you may know that he derives it
from a good fountain that can be
relied on, 2
i This is as the Latter-day Saints
should live, and when we take into
consideration the great labor before
us, the frailties and weakness of hu-
\ man nature that we have to over-
come, and the obstacles in the path
to the accomplishment of God's work,
we have no time to waste in drunken-
ness, idleness, or in following after
the follies and fashions of the world.
Our whole time should be occupied
in that which is profitable to our-
selves and our fellow beings. May
the Lord help us to be faithful in
living the religion of Jesus Christ, is
my prayer. Amen*
THE RESTORATION OP THE GOSPEL, ETC.
DISCOURSE BY ELDER ORSON PRAT V,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, November 27, 1870.
•o-
(Reported by David W, Evans,)
THE RESTORATION OF THE GOSPEL — ITS FIRST PRINCIPLES — ACCUMU«
LATINfi EVIDENCES OF THS TRUTH OF THE BOOK OF MORMON*
We have assembled ourselves to-
gether this afternoon to partake of
bread, and also the contents of the
cup, to witness before the heavens
that we remember the crucifixion,
death and sufferings of our Savior;
that we are willing to keep his com-
mandments and determined to be his
followers and obey him to the end of
our lives. We hate also assembled to
speak and to listen concerning those
things that pertain to our peace and
welfare, not only in this world, but in
that which is to come.
We, as a people, called Latter-day
Saints, are a very peculiar people,
not only in the eyes of one another,
bat in the eyes of the world and also
in the eyes of God and all the heaven-
ly host* We are a peculiar people in
some respects, — namely, we believe
that God has spoken and sent an
•angel from the heavens, as we heard
this forenoon, and, by new revelation,
has established his kingdom or
Charch upon the earth, according to
the predictions of the ancient prop-
hets. In this respect we are vory
peculiar.
j We are also peculiar in another re-
spect Instead of remaining where
we embraced this Gospel among the
various nations, we have left our na-
No. 19,
tive lands and have emigrated to the
interior of North America, and have
founded settlements in the Rocky
Mountains under the most un favor*
able circumstances* In this respect,
again, we are peculiar.
There is another respect wherein
this people are very peculiar. We
not only believe in the Jewish Bible
— the Old and New Testament — but
we also believe in the ancient Ameri-
can Bible, called the Book of Mormon;
which no other people do believe in,
and hence, on this latter point, we
are regarded as very peculiar.
We might point out a great
many peculiarities relating to this
people ; but I do not know that it is
necessary to mention all the differen-
ces between this people and the re-
ligious Christian denominations ot
the age, I think those already named
are sufficient to render us a distinct
people from the rest of mankind. We
believe that God has fulfilled that
which was spoken of this forenoon,
that was predicted by the mouth of
the revelalor John: that he has sent
an angel from heaven, and by the
ministration of this angel he has re-
vealed the everlasting Gospel in all
its ancient purity and fulness to be
proclaimed to every nation trader
Vol XIV.
290
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES
heaven . And let me dwell on this
subject a little while — the restoration
of the everlasting Gospel by an an-
gel j for this is a peculiar doctrine and
the Latter-day Saints are the only
people on earth who believe in it
Let ns now inquire, for a few mo-
ments, in what manner this Gospel
was restored by an angel. Did it
come to as verbally, — from his mouth,
or was there a revelation communi-
cated and written containing this
everlasting gospel ? We testify that
by the ministration of this angel, sent
from heaven, in fulfillment of John,
an ancient Bible, kept by ancient
prophets, was brought to light, — the
Bible of ancient America. Of course
it has a little different name — we call
it the Book of Mormon, This Bible
contains the everlasting Gospel* But
in order to know whether it does
contain this everlasting Gospel, it
may not be amiss lor me to state, in
a very few words, what the ever-
lasting Gospel is*
I would state that the everlasting
Gospel must be the same that was
pub! is ed in the Eastern Continent
some eighteen centuries ago, as re*
corded in the New Testament We
and our forefathers have had a record
of that Gospel from ancient times un-
to the present ; but a record is one
thing and the power and authority to
administer it is another. They are
entirely distinct, as much so as the
history of a good dinner enjoyed in
ancient days is distinct from the par-
taking of that dinner in our day.
The history of such an event will not
satisfy a man's hunger, any more than
the mere record of what the ever-
lasting Gospel is will confer the au-
thority to administer its ordinances.
We may read, when we are very
hungry, about the three or five thou-
sand eating the loaves and fishes;
but oar appetite would still remain
unsatisfied. It is very good to think
that somebody else was fed and had
their hunger satisfied ; but it does
us no good, so Car as satisfy ing the
cravings of our own appetites is con-
cerned. So with regard to the New
Testament containing the everlasting
Gospel* None could embrace that
Gospel, from the simple fact that
none were authorized to administer its
ordinances. After the Apostles and
righteous men of ancient days, who
held this authority, were killed off,
you might read the Gospel and re-
late over to one another its various
principles and ordinances, but you
could not embrace them.
That everlasting Gospel required a
man to be baptized for the remission
of his sins, Thai is very important;
and everybody who believes in God,
and in Jesus Christ will acknowledge
that the sins of men and women
should be forgiven. God ordained
in the everlasting Gospel that his
creatures should be baptized for the
remission of their sins; but how could
I or any other person be baptized for
the remission of sins if no man on
the earth had the authority to ad-*
minister the ordinance of baptism ?
Would God forgive my sins through
my faith and repentance, without be-
ing legally baptized in writer? Is
there any promise in this everlasting
Gospel that we can receive forgive-
ness of sins unless we connect with
our faith, baptism by immersion in
water ? No, the everlasting Gospel,
as preached in ancient times, con-
tained no such promise. Head the
record of it in the second chapter of
the Acts of the Apostles, where it
was first promulgated after the com-
mission was given to the ancient
apostles to preach the Gospel to every
creature. They were commanded to
tarry in the city of Jerusalem until
they received power to preach that
Gospel and administer its ordinances
to the people. They did so, and on
THE RESTORATION OF THE GOSPEL, ETC
291
the day of pentecost they received this
power. The Holy Ghost came upon
them ; the whole house, where they
were sitting was filled with cloven
tongues, like fire, and sat on each of '
them ; and they rose up before a large
multitude of people, many thousands
in number, and proclaimed the ever-
lasting Gospel. They informed the
people that that despised being, called
Jesus, whom the Jews had crucified,
was both Lord and Christ. They
proved it effectually by appealing to
the prophetic writings. After having
proved this fact and having convin-
ced the people, by sufficient testimony
exhibited before their minds, that he
was really the Lord and Savior, that
he was t he Great Redeemer, and had
come in fulfillment of the law of
Moses to be offered as a sacrifice, the
people were pricked to their hearts?;
they were convicted, or in other
words, faith had come by hearing the
evidence presented before thetn, and
they were convinced that Jesus was
really and truly both Lord and
Christ ; and seeing the importance
and necessity of repenting of their
sins, they cried out in the anguish of
their hearts; "Men and brethren
what shall we do ?" As much as to
say ; " We see, by the testimony
which you have presented before us,
that we have crucified the Savior, that
he was that being that the law of
Moses typified ; we see that we have
committed a great sin, that our nation
has transgressed, and that we are un-
der great condemnation. Now, how
shall we be saved, can you inform us
how we can receive the remission of
our sins ?" The answer was ready.
Peter said unto them; 11 Repent and
be baptized every one of you, in the
name of the Lord Jesus, for the re-
ii nasi on of your sins, and you shall
receive the Holy Ghost ; for the pro-
mise is to you, and to your children
and to all that are afar off, even as
many as the Lord our God shall call,"
These were the first principles of the
Gospel of the Son of God ; these con-
stituted in part, so far as its elements
were concerned, the everlasting Gos-
pel that was to be brought by the
angel in the latter d »yg and com-
mitted to the inhabitants of the earth.
You will notice that, on the day of
pentecost, faith was not sufficient for
the remission of sins; neither were
faith and repentance; neither were
faith, repentance and prayer sufficient
to obtain the great blessing of the
remission of sins. There was a sac-
red ordinance connected with these
principles by which only the re-
mission of sins was promised, —
namely, baptism by immersion in
I water.
After having been born of the
water and justified from all their sins
they had the promise of the Holy
Ghost, — that is, the birth of the spirit,
as well as the birth of the water.
And this baptism of the Huly Ghost,
like all other blessings that the Lord
has promised unto the people, came
1 through the administration of an holy
ordinance. What was that ordinance?
The h>mds of the servants of God had
to be laid on the baptized believer, —
the penitent soul who had received
the first principles of the Gospel ; for
God committed to his servants whom
he called to preach in ancient days,
the power not only to administer the
Gospel in word, but also* its ordi*
j nances and spirit,
I know that there are many at the
present day, in Christendom, who
will ask " What is the use of these
outward ordinances? What parti-
cular benefit is it for me to go and be
immersed in water, or to have hands
laid upon me for the gift of the Huly
Ghost ? they are only outward ordi-
nances." In explanation, let me say
to the congregation that the blessings
which God has promised in his word,,
292 JOURNAL OF
generally come through some act re*
quired of the creature. When the man
with the withered hand was healed, the
Lord did not say I command yon to be
healed, without any act on his part;
but he commanded him to stretch forth
his hand. That, apparently, was an
impossibility, for his arm was wither-
ed, powerless; and he might have
thought that it was impossible for
him to perform the act required of
him. But an exercise of faith was
required on the part of that man, —
something connected with the mental
faculties, by which the blessing of
healing might be secured.
So it is in regard to the blessing of
the remission of sins, God, in order
to prove that we have faith, requires
us to be baptized for the remission of
our sins. If we do this he stands
ready to impart forgiveness to us.
80 in regard to the baptism of the
Holy Ghost, He is willing to grant
this spirit to those who are willing
to be obedient; but if they are un-
willing to receive this simple act of
the laying on of hands, considering it
non-essential, God will not be willing
to pour out his spirit ; if they will
not obey so simple an ordinance he
will withold his spirit. This, then,
was the everlasting Gospel, so far as
its first principle* are concerned, as
preached in ancient days,
Now, then, let ns consider this
Gospel, so far as the power of it is
concerned. We have shown you how
to obtain the remission of sins and
the gift of the Holy Ghost Now,
what are the powers of this Holy
Ghost, as promised to the believer ?
for we have seen that the prom fee is
not a limited otie. When the apostle
made the promise on the day of pen-
teooat he said, m the promise is to
you," — a large multitude; and it is
not only to you, but " to your child*
ren,** meaning the then rising gene-
ration; and not only to "yon and
DISCOURSES.
your children " but "to all afar off/* —
meaning the distant nations of the
earth, and to all that *' the Lord our
God shall call " every human creature
on the face of the earth that has the
Gospel preached to him has the prom-
ise of the Holy Ghost, if he or she
will yield obedience,
Now what are the powers of the
Holy Ghost ? What are its gifts and
blessings? How are we to know
when we receive the Holy Ghost? I
will mention the Scriptural account
of the blessings and gifts that pertain
to the Huly Spirit You read the
12th chapter of 1st Corinthians and
you will have a description of the
various powers and gifts of the Holy
Ghost. We there learn that God
gave to every man, that is, every
man in the Church, the demonstra-
I tion of the Holy Spirit to profit
withal. Says Paul, y We are all
baptized into the same body by the
; same spirit/' That is, they were not
baptized into half a dozen or a bun*
dred different bodies, or denomina-
tions of people, called Christians; but
they were all baptized into the same
body by the same spirit, and aH m:tdp
partakers of the gifts of that spirit,
enjoying the blessings and powers of
the same. The members constituting
the body of Christ are diversified : and
being filled with the Holy Ghost it
operates in various ways. " To one,**
says Paul, "is given through the
spirit the word of wisdom; to another
is given by the same spirit, the word
of knowledge; to another is given
faith by the same spirit ; to another
the gift of healing; to another the
1 working of miracles ; to another pro-
| phecy, to another the discerning of
spirits, to another divers kinds of
tongues, and to another the interpre-
tation of tongues ; but all these work
after the one and the selfsame spirit,
severally as he will/'
Here then we see what it is that
THE RESTORATION OF THE GOSPEL, ETC.
constitutes the body of Christ, or in
other words his Church, First, those
priuciples that I have named, — faith,
repentance and baptism tor the re-
mission of sins; then the laying on of
hands for the reception of the Holy
Ghost; then, when the spirit falls
Upon the Church, ifc diversifies all
these gifts that are name 1 through-
out the whole body of the Chuich.
This agrees with the promise that
Jesus made when he gave the great,
last commission to his apostles to
preach the Gospel in nil the world to
every creat ure. On that occasion lie
made certain promises to every crea-
ture that should divell on the earth.
Said lie, " He thai believeth and is
baptized shall be saved, and he that
believeth not shall be damned; and
these signs shall follow them that be-
lieve : In my name they shall c:tst
out devils/1 Now, notice, this prom-
ise was not exclusively made to the
1/
apostles, they were the ones who re-
ceived the commission to go and
preach the Gospel ; but t lie promises
that I am now repeating were made
to all persons in the world that should
believe that Gospel they preached.
They who believed should not only
have the gift of salvation con re r red
upon them, but, u these signs shall
follow them that believe. In my
name they shall cast out devils, they
shall speak with new tongues; ami if
they take up serpents, or drink any
deadly thing they shall not hurt them,
and they shall lay hands on the sick
and they shall recover.'*
These are the gifts of that ancient
Gospel, — the powers that pertain to
the baptism of the Holy Spirit, prom-
ised to every believer in the world.
These were the powers that were re-
markable in the Church of the living
God, and which constituted that
Church the body of Christ
Now, we will inquire wjiere has
this body of Christ been during the last
293
seventeen hundred years ? Has it ex-
isted among the Greeks or Roman
Catholics ? or has it existed among the
Protestant denominations for the past
two or three centuries ? No; these
gifts have been banished from the
earth fo ■ several centuries and the
i universal cry in the religious world of
Christendom is, that " These gifts
were only intended for the first a^o of
Christianity." But if these gifts are
part of the Gospel, you do them away
and you do away with the Gospel.
Let me quote a passage to prove that
these giifcj were to remain among the
true believers so long as true believers
should be on the earth. We have
already quoted one passage to prove
this, which is to be found in the last
chapter of Mark, where all believers
in the four quarters ot the earth are
promised that certain signs should
follow them. Another passage you
will find in the epistle of Paul to the
Ephesians, whfch says that when
Jusus ascended up on high he led
captivity captive, and gave gifts unto
men. He gave some apostles, some
prophets, some evangelists, pristorsaud
teachers. All these various gifts that
I have quoted were given unto men
when Jesus ascended upon high.
What was the purpose for which
they were given ? Were they given,
as the Christian world say, merely fl jr
the sake of estahlishing the Gospel,
and when that was thoroughly estab-
lished they were no longer necessary ?
Is this the language of the ancient
apostle ? Hear what he says ; — They
were rjiven tor the perfecting of the
Saints, for the work of the ministry,
for the edifying of the body of
Christ," — the Church. Now, if they
were given for the?e three special
purposes, let us inquire whether they
are needed for these purposes at the
present day? Is the work of the
ministry needed now ? " O, yes,n
all denominations will tell you that
294 * JOURNAL OF
the work of the ministry is needed
now. Well, recollect that, according
to the words of the apostle Pan], these ,
gifts were given for the work of the
ministry* You take away these gifts,
and how can there be a ministry^
There can only be a false ministry, —
only those who have no power of God
with them, — a ministry that God has
nothing to do with. They may go
and preach, but their preaching is as
powerless as the preaching of the
heathen priests.
Another purpose for which these
gifts were given was for the perfect-
ing of the Saints. Can Saints be
perfected now, any more than in the
days of Paul, without the gifts of pro-
phecy, revelation, visions, the minis-
trations of angels, tongues, the inter-
pretation of tongues, healing, wisdom
and knowledge by the power and
spirit of God ? If they can be per-
fected without these gifts then we
have a new Gospel, and not the ever-
lasting Gospel spoken of by the an-
cient apostle. But it seems that
mankind, at the present day, have so
fallen into tradition, and have preach-
ed a Gospel without its gifts so 1 >ng,
that I have no doubt there are thou-
sands of them who really believe it,
and Ijelieve that God will acknow-
ledge their Gospels to be divine, and '
acknowledge their Churches to be his
Church, It is the greatest piece of
fool ishi less that could possibly be
conjured up in the minds of men to
suppose that the Church of the living
God could be here without inspired
prophets and apostles it it! How
could Saints l>e perfected ? Has God
altered the Gospel or changed the
pattern of things that is recorded in
the New Testament ? Has he pre-
dicted that the time should come when
the Saints should no longer need the
gilts to perfect them, or that they
should be perfected by the learning j
and wisdom of man ? If he has in-
DISCOURSES.
troduced, or designs to introduce, any
such order of things he has not told
us anything about it, but has left us
entirely in ignorance on the subject.
If his people are to be perfected by
learning, or by men studying years
and years, pouring over the theology
of the day, if anything of this kind is
intended to perfect the children of
men, then I don't read the Scriptures
aright; for I am told in the Scrip-
tures that God gave tlu*se gifts speci-
ally, because we cannot be perfected
without them. They were given,
sjiys Paul, for the edifying of the
body of Christ. 0, how much the
Christian world seem to be edified at
the present day ! If they can hear a
minister use very flowery language, a
great deal of oratory, and bring into his
subject, as it were, all the various
parts and points of logic and rhetoric,
their ears are fickled. and they feel
that they are wonderfully edified, but
it is a false edification. The edifi-
cation the Scriptures speak of are
those miraculous gifts that Jesus gave
when he ascended up on high. With-
out them the world is liable to be de-
ceived sind carried away by every
wind of doctrine that is incorrect; and
Paul tells us that they wer6 given for
the edifying of the body of Christ
until we all come to the unity of the
faith and the knowledge of the Son
of God, unto a perfect man, unto the
measure of the stature of the fullness
of Christ, That is, they were never
to cease, they were never to be done
away until the Church arrived at that
period when they should no longer
look through a glass darkly, but see
face to face, and become immortal and
be exalted to his presence ; then these
gifts would no longer be necessary.
The gift of healing will no longer be
needed when we are all immortal ;
there will be no need of the gift of
tongues or interpretation when all
have one language.
THE RESTORATION OF THE GOSPEL, ETC
295
Besides being designed to bring
the Saints to this state of perfection
these gifts were also intended to pre-
vent the Church from being carried
about by every wind of doctrine
by the sleight of men and their cun-
ning craftiness whereby they lie in
wait to deceive. You take a people
who have not these gifts, and you will
see them carried about by every wind of
doctrine. One leaning to the Metho-
dist, another after the Baptists, an-
other after the Presbyterians, and
another after this sect and another
after that. They have not the gifts
necessary to keep theru in the unity
of the faith ; and not being kept in
the unity of the faith, not having the
power to call ;t. m < i >d and receive
revelations from him to guide ami
direct Liieni in regard to doctrine and
principle, they are overcome by the
power and persuasion of the children
of men, by their sleight and canning
craftiness until they are overpowered
and dragged away, as it were, into
wery species of wild enthusiasm, the
doctrines of men. So much for the
Gospel as taught by holy and inspired
men in former days, Now for an-
other part of my subject,
1 told you that God had revealed
an ancient Bible, — the Bible of and
enfc America, by the ministration of
an angel, sent forth from heaven.
What does it contain ? A record of
this same Gospel that I have already
named, "But/' says one, f* we have
a record of that already, in the New
Testament: what is the use of an-
other record of it?" In answering
that question, I will ask another.
When Matthew had written his Gos-
pel, what was the use of Mark writ-
ing one afterwards ; and when Mat-
thew and Mark had each written the
Gospel what was the use of Luke
writing it; and when these three had
written it what was the use of John
the Revelator writing another record
of it ? And so we might go on and
say, after Matthew, Mark, Luke and
John had written, why should God
reveal to us another Bible containing
the same Gospel ? I will tell you, —
It is because God intends to give just
as many witnesses to the children of
men as seems him good. If we have
the testimony and witness of the Jew-
ish nation on the eastern continent to
that everlasting Gospel, is it not
reasonable that God should also give
us the testimony of the inhabitants
who formerly lived on the great wes-
tern world. Let us nason together
on this subject. Tue in ft lei says,
hi Why was the Lord so narrow in
his feelings that he confined his oper-
ations to that little spot of ground
called Palestine? Why didn't he
reveal his will, requirements and laws
to other nations?" This is one of
the arguments of the infidel, and it is
very good so far as it goes. The in-
fidel sometimes happens to hit upon
some truth. I would say the same.
God had a people here in ancient
America, there is no mistake about
this, and all who want to know for
certain in regard to this Continent
being settled, jost read the history of
its antiquities, — read the works of
Stevens and Catherwood and many
others, on the great and mighty
ancient cities whose ruins are seen on
various parts of this Continent,
especially in Central America and the
northern part of South America.
Ruins, too, that not only speak of a
former civilization of the inhabitants
who dwelt there, but which show that
they were a people who understood
the arts,* — understood building mag-
nificent cities, temples and great
palaces. They were a very different
people from the present aboriginal
inhabitants of the Continent.
Now it God had a people living on
this Continent ages and ages ago,
wonld it not be reasonable that he
should speak to them as well as to
the people of Asia ? Reflect upon it
for a few moments ! Why should
God leave the great western world
out of the plan of salvation ? Has
he not declared himself to be an im-
partial being ? And if he is impar-
tial would he not remember those
who are of the same blood? We are
all created by the same Creator; the
inhabitants of the four quarters of the
earth descended from the same paren-
tage ; they are all of the same blood,
and conaeqently they are immortal
beings, and have souls to be saved.
Then was it not needful, in order to
be saved, that the fulness of the Gos-
pel should be revealed to the people
of the West as well as to the people
of the East ? Now, reason, indepen-
dent of anything else, would say that
it would be perfectly Godlike for him
to reveal himself to the people of
ancient America as well as to the
people of t he eastern world ; that they
might know about Jesus, and the
atonement that he n rough t out, and
be made partakers of the same gifts
and blessings as the children of God
in the eastern lands. This is a
reasonable conclusion to come to.
And, again, if God did reveal to '
the people of this continent the plan
of salvation, showing that he is an
impartial being, why should it be
thought incredible by the learned or
by any reflecting person that he
should bring these revelations to light,
especially when he had promised,
according to what you heard this
forenoon, to Bend an angel with the
everlasting Gospel to be preached to
every people, nation and kindred un-
der (he whole heaven? Why not
bring to light, by the ministration of
an angel, the record of the Gospel
that was preached here on this wes-
tern hemisphere p
Perhaps some may say that we
have neither witness nor testimony,
pave it be the Book of Mormon, and
the living witnesses whose names are
attached to that book, that the people
of this continent know anything
about God or about revelation. But
let me inform such persons that they
are mistaken. Only a few years ago,
—in 18(53, thirty -eight years after
the plates of the Book of Mormon
were taken out of the earth by Joseph
Smith, one of the great mounds in thfr
State of Ohio was opened, near
Newark, in Licking County; It was
a very large mound : it measured, be-
fore they began to cart away the
stones and dirt, 5 SO feet in circum-
ference, aud was from forty to fifty
feet in height. After they had carted
away from this mo mid several thou-
sand loads of dirt and stones, for the
purpose ef canaling or fixing a canal,,
they found on the outer edge near the
circumference of the base of this
ruourd, just within the circle, several
smaller mounds, built entirely of fire
clny, that hail the appearance of putty.
When digging into one of these
smaller mounds they came to some-
thing that had the appearance of wood,
and after having removed the upper
surface of it, they found a trough,
and in that trough several- metal ic
rings, probably the ancient coins of
the country. They also found that
the interior trough had been lined
with some kind of cloth, but it was
in such a state of decomposition that
only the least bit of it would hold to*
gether, not even a piece as large as
your thumb naiL There wai alio
some human bones in this trough and
a lock of fine black hair. Underneath
this trough, still further down in the
fire clay, they found ■ stone, and
when it was taken out they found
that it was hollow and that there was
something inside of it. They found by
inspection that it had been cemented
together with hard cement. With
considerable exertion they broke the
THE RESTORATION OF TIIK GOSPET , ETC
297
stone in two. It was oval, or ellip-
tical in form. They separated it
where it was cemented together, find in
the inside they found another kind of
stone on which wasengiaven the Ten
Commandments in the anctent He-
brew, This stone was immediately sent
to Cincinnati, where many learned
men saw it and they declared the in-
scriptions were in ancient Hebrew,
and translated the Ten Command-
ments. The stone was nearly seven
inches long, nearly three inches wide,
and almost two in thickness. On one
side of it there was a depression, and
in this depression was a raised pro-
file, the likeness of a man clothed
with a robe, — that is, carved out of
the stone, with his left side partly
facing the beholder, and the robe and
girdle upon his left shoulder; he had
also a turban on. Over his bead was
written in Hebrew, M >lie, which is
the Hebrew name for Moses. They
therefore represented this person, thus
carved out, as Moses. Around about
him, that is on the various sides of
the stone, were written the Ten Com-
mandments in undent Hebrew.
Now what does this prove ? It
proves that the inhabitants of this
country were acquainted with the
revelations of heaven, — those given
to Moses; and if they understood
these would they not naturally look
forward to the coming of the Messiah?
would they not look for the Lord to
raise up such a being, which their law
indicated by types ? And when that
being came is it to be supposed that
lie would leave the inhabitants of
America ignorant concerning that
event? By no means. He would not
forget them. And this recoid, — the
Book of Mormon, gives us an account
of that very people*
Let me here state that I have seen
this stone ; with ray own eyes I have
seen the Hebrew engravings upon it;
and though many of the characters
were altered in shape from the pre-
sent Hebrew, vet I had sufficient
knowledge ot them to understand and
know how to translate the inscription.
This stone was sent to the New York
Ethnological Society, and while there,
by the politeness of the Secretary of
the Society, 1 had the pleasure of
seeing it. A no (her mound was open-
ed in the same county, in Ohio, and
out of it were taken stones with other
Hebrew inscriptions; and in 1860
and there were several of these
antiquities exhumed with Hebrew
characters on, and one with charac-
ters that were not Hebrew, and which
the learned could not translate, show-
ing that the people of this continent
not only understood the Hebrew, but
some othe*- kind of an alphabet. This
book, — the Book of .V;» or mon, informs
us that the Lord brought the colony
to this country hx hundred years be-
fore Christ, and that he brought
them from Jerusalem* Was there
anything connected with these anci-
ent characters that would indicate
such a great antiquity? Yes* The
Hebrew, since six hundred years be-
fore Christ, everv learned scholar
knows, has been greatly altered in
the shape of its characters. It now
has square diameters, with vowel
points; that i«, the form of the
Hebrew chaiacteis now is entirely
different in many respects from the
ancient characters, such as are found
on coins and engravings lately ex-
humed in Palestine, Moreover since
the period that colony was brought to
America, not only have the forms of
the Hebrew characters been changed,
but some Jourreen different new char-
aders have been introduced. Now,
the stones taken from these mounds,
on which the Ten Command men ts
were engraved, had none of these new
characters, which shows that the
inscriptions were of a more ancient
date than the modern Hebrew. Still
298
JOURNAL OF DISCOUIIS]
forther. The Hebrew as it dow stands,
has a great many of what are termed
final characters that it did not have
six hundred years before Christ. You
do not find these characters on these
stones that were taken out of the
Ohio mounds. AH these circum-
stances prove, pointedly, the great
antiquity of the people who formed
these mounds and wrote the charac-
ters on these stones.
The Book of Mormon informs us
that they understood the Egyptian as
well as the Hebrew, They kept
many of their records in the Egyptian
character as well as the Hebrew
character* That book also informs
us that Jesus, after he was crucified
in Jerusalem, appeared on this Amer-
ican continent, and commanded the
people *to do away with the law of
Moses which their fathers were in
possession of and kept ; and he intro-
duced the everlasting Gospel in their
midst; and he commanded them to
write it on the plates, from which
this book was translated. Thus you
eee that this is a record of the ever-
lasting Gospel, as Jesus, himself,
administered it to the people of tMs
continent eighteen hundred years ago,
that is, after his resurrection from
the dead, and after he had finished
his ministry in Jerusalem.
On what part of this continent did
Jesus appear ? He appeared in what
is now termed the northern part of
South America, where they had a
temple built, at which place the peo-
ple were gathered together, some
twenty- five hundred in number, mar-
velling and wondering at the great
earthquake that had taken place on
this land, which had destroyed so
many cities, &c., and the great dark-
ness that had overshadowed the land,
which was a sign given them by pro-
phecy concerning the crucifixion of
Christ They were marvelling and
wondering about it, and while they
were talking over it, nearly a year
after the resurrection of Jesus, they
heard a voice in the heavens, and
casting their eyes heavenward they
saw a man descend out or' heaven,
clothed hi a white robe; and he came
down and stood in the midst of them,
and told them he was Christ, about
whom their prophets had written;
and that he had been crucified for
the sins of the world. He then
choose twelve disciples from amongst
them, and administered his Gospel
unto them. ^
Thus you see that when we testify
that God has fulfilled that saying in
the 1 4th chapter of Revelations, that
he would send an angel having the
everlasting Gospel to preach to all
people, nations and tongues on the
earth, we have something tangible,
something contained in the form of
a revelation ; it is not a mere verbal
message by the voice of an angel,
but an entire record, a sacred history
of the western world, of one half of
our globe, detailing the wars of the
people of this continent, the same as
the Jewish record contains the history
of the wars and doings of the Jews
on the eastern continent. God lias
brought this forth and confirmed it
to others by the ministration of holy
angels. Joseph Smith was not the
only one, but there were three men
besides him to whom the Lord sent
this angel, clothed in glory, who ex-
hibited the plates before their eyes
after they had been translated, and
commanded them to bear record of it
to all people, nations and tongues.
They have given their testimony in
this book. These witnesses I am
well acquainted with, as we!) as
with Joseph Smith, tie also exhib-
ited the plates to eight other men.
Tims we have twelve witnesses in all,
four of whom saw the angel, and the
others saw the plates and the en-
gt livings thereon and handled them;
THE RESTORATION OF THE GOSPEL, ETC
299
and their testimony is also recorded
in the book to go to all people,
nations and tongues under the whole
Lea vena
And having revealed this hook, and
it having been translated by the gift
and power of the Holy Ghost, — the
same gift and spirit winch enabled
Joseph Smith to interpret the lan-
guage of this record by the use of
the Urim and Thorn mim ; [ say, hav-
ing done this, the Lord commanded
bis servants to organize his Church,
and in obedience to this command-
ment they gathered together on the
6th of April, 1*30; and while thus
gathered together the Lord God spake
tin to them, and commanded them
after what order his Church and
kingdom should be organized. It
was then organized, and it has con-
tinued to receive acquisitions from
that day until this, and has rolled
for tli among many nations a^d king-
doms ; and the people have been
gathered out from those nations here
into the midst of these mountains in
fulfillment of ancient prophecy.
God Almighty has spoken, he
lias given commandment in relation
to the organization of this kingdom.
He has sent his angel and restored
the Gospel ; he has given command-
merit for his servants to gather out
his elect from the four quarters of the
earth unto one place. He has given
commandment to prepare his people
for the great day of the coming of
the Son of God in the clouds of
heaven. And we have gone forth
and labored diligently from that day
to this to establish the kingdom of
our God. We have succeeded, so far
as time will permit, in gathering1 up
a great people to these mountains.
Here they must become acquainted
with the Lord more fully; here they
must become sanctified before the
Lord of Hosts ; here they must learn
to be more obedient in keeping the
commands and counsels of Gorl, or he
may with old from tli em the sacred
blessings and gifts which he hereto-
fore bestowed so bountifully upon
them. Here the Saints must become
acquainted with those celestial laws
which are calculated to exalt them
into the presence of God, and into the
fulness of his glory. Here, you
Latter-day Saints must he prepared
to carry out and fulfill his purposes
in the last days pertaining to the re-
demption of the desert, that joy and
thanksgiving may be offered up in all
parts of it in fulfillment of the pro-
phecy of Isaiah, which lias often been
aung by the Christian world : — i£ The
Lord shall comfort Zion, he shall
comfort all her waste places, make
her wilderness like Eden, and her
desert like the garden of the Lord*
Joy and gladness shall be found there-
in, thanksgiving ami the voice of
melody," You here see the begin-
ning of the fulfillment of this
ancient prophecy. Isaiah in his
40th chapter also says, "Zion shall
no up into the high mountains."
Zion in the high mountains ! Zion
iu the midst of the great American
desert is beginning to redeem it and
make it blossom as the rose, making
it like the garden of Eden, that joy
and thanksgiving and songs of praise
and prayer and gladness may ascend
up from all her habitations and settle-
ments throughout the length and
breadth of this desert, and thus the
prophecies will be fulfilled. Amen,
300 JOURNAL OF DlfcCOUf^ES,
DISCOURSE BY ELDER LORENZO SNOW,
Delivered in the Tabernaclk, Salt Lake City, January 14, 1872,
f Reported by David W* Eoans.)
PROGRESSION— THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD— THE PERFECT MAN
GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT — HIS T '^lTMONY.
I take plensure, this afternoon, in
making a few remarks to the Latter-
day Saints, as well as to any strangers
that may be in our midst. I never
designed to be a preacher; it was
only a sense of positive duty that in-
duced me to recupy the position as a
preacher of the Gospel for, J may say,
nearly thirty- five years an under,
standing, given t h rough the revela-
tions of the Lord Jesus Christ, of the
principles lhat we, the Latter-d;iy
Saints have espoused, has induced
me to travel through the world bear-
ing testimony of those things which
I assuredly do know pertaining to the
Gospel of life and salvation revealed
in this our day. The relation that we
sustain to the Lord our God, and the
blessings and privileges to be acquired
through the system of life which we
have received, are worthy of our
deepest consideration; and it is no
less necessary that we understand the
duties the performance of which is
requisite on our part, for the attain-
ment of those blessings and privi-
leges, and to keep ourselves in the
path on which we may secure the
highest advantages which the system
of religion we have received is, in its
nature, capable of giving.
The relationship which we sustain
to God our Father, as well as to the
world at large, if properly understood
and appreciated, is calculated to wake
us up to the performance of the duties
required of us as Latter-day Saints,
We ought to understand that we have
espoused a system of religion that is
calculated in its nature to increase
within us wist lorn and knowledge ;
lhat we hav3 entered upon a path
that is progressive, that will increase
our spiritual, intellectual and physical
advantages, and everything pertaining
to our own happiness and the well-
being of the world at large. We be-
lieve that we are the offspring of our
Father iu heaven, and th it we possess
in our spiritual organizations the same
capabilities, powers and faculties that
onr Fuihe- possess, although in an
infantile state, requiring <o pass
th-ough a certain course or ordeal by
which t!>ey wilt be developed and
improved according to the heed we
give to the principles wu have re-
ceived. We believe that God is no
respecter of persons, bui that he con-
fers blessings upon all his children in
proportion to the light they have,
or in proportion as I hey proceed ac-
cordiog to the light and knowledge
they possess in the different circutn-
stances of life that may surround
them. We believe that the spirit
which en tightens the human family
PROGRESSION, ETC.
301
proceeds from the presence of the
Almighty, thai it spreads throughout
all space, that it is the light and life
of all things, and that every hones i
bear! possesses it in proportion to his
virtue, iniegrity, and his desite to
know the truth and do good to his
fellow men.
We see the providences of God io
all things ; we sec them in raising tip
different communities :md establish-
ments in the world for i he general and
universal benefit of mankind. We
see the providences of" G-od in raising
up a Luther and a John Wesley; we
see the providences of God in all the
Christian organizations and commu-
nities; we trace the hand of the
Almighty in framing the consti-
tution of our land, and believe that
the Lord raised up men purposely for
the accomplishment of this object,
raised them up and Inspired them to
frame the constitution of the United
States. We trace the hand of God,
his Spirit, his workings upon and
among all classes of people, whether
Christian or heathen, that his provi-
dences may be carried oat, and that
his designs, formed before the mor-
ning stars sang together or the foun-
dations of the earth were laid, may
be ultimately fulfilled. He slackens
not his hand, he gives not up his de-
signs nor his purposes ; but his work
is one eternal round. We trace the
band of the Almighty and we see his
Spirit moving in all communities fur
their good, restraining and encourag-
ing, establishing governments and
nations, inspiring men to take a
course that shall mo.si advance his
purposes until the set time shall come
when he shall work more fully and
effectually for the accomplishment of
his designs, and when sorrow, wicked-
ness, evil, crime, bitter* disappoint
ments, vexation, distress and poverty
shall cease and be no more known,
and the salvation and happiness of his
child ten be secured, when the earth
shall be rolled bauk into i>-s prist in
purity and the inhabitants thereof
dwell opoo it in perfect peace and
happiness. dliraia
If there is any class of people in
the world thai have reason to be more
liberal and generous towards their
follow creatures, it is the Latter-day
Saints; and if our liberality and gen-
erosity are not shown more than ihey
are, it is in consequence of the pre-
sure of circumstances with which we
are surrounded restraining us from
the exercise thereof ; yet* we expect to
be, hereafter, in circumstances when
we will have the privilege and oppor-
i unity of doing as we desire in these
respects. However, ia regard to this
matter, whether circumstances shall
so change or not, we know ihal; we
have obeyed a system of progression.
We might speak in reference io ihe
increase of knowledge to any indi-
vidual who may receive and obey the
doctrines we teach ; hat that which
is most interesting to os is the pro-
gression of the La tier-day Saints
themselves in the system they
have received. Our faith, views
and ihe principles we have obeyed
aU coincide perfectly with those
of former-day Saints, which we
read about in this book (the Bible).
Were ministers at the present day to
stand up in their pulpits and announce
doctrines in reference to the pro-
gression of Saints, as they were
preached in former days, the doctrines
would be considered, at least, very
startling, and a committee of inves-
tigation would undoubtedly be requir
ed at once by their congregations to
ascertain whether or not they had
seceded from their previously avowed
principles. For instance, tet a Metho-
dist, Presbyterian or Baptist minister
rise in his pulpit, and suggest to his
congregation, as Paul did on a cer-
tain occasion : u Let this same mind
302 JOURNAL OF
be in yon which is also in Christ
Jesus, who, having the form of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal
with God," it would be considered a
startling announcement; so also would
the doctrine of John the Revelator
on a certain occasion, when he says :
" We are now the sons of God, it
does not yet appear what we shall be,
but we know that when he (that is
Christ) shall appear, we shall be like
him, for we shall see him as he is;
and every man that has this hope in
him purifies himself even as God is
pure/' That would be a startling
announcement of doctrine. Did any
one present, acquainted with the
Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian or
Episcopalian societies, ever hear sug-
gestions or doctrines like these ? I
never did, and I was formerly well ac-
quainted with these societies- u Let this
same mind be in you which was in
Christ Jesus, who, fi tiding himself in
the form of God, thought it not rob-
bery to be equal with God and
" He that has this hope in him, puri-
fies himself even as God is pure;" and
again : '* When he shall appear we i
shall be like him, for we shall see
him as he is/1
We were born in the image of God
our Father; he begot us like unto
himself. There is the nature of deity
in the composition of our spiritual
organization; in our spiritual birth
our Father transmitted to us the
capabilities, powers and faculties which
he himself possessed, as much so as
the child on its mother's bosom pos*
sesses, although in an undeveloped
state, the faculties, powers and sus-
ceptibilities ot its parents]
Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pas-
tors and teachers, we are told, were
placed in former days in the Church
for the perfecting ot the Saints, for
the work of the ministry, for the
edifying of the body of Christ, u until
we all come to the unity of the faith,
DISCOURSES,
and of the knowledge of the Son of
God, unto the perfect man," What
is meant by this, "The perfect man?**
And again, 41 Unto the measure of the
statue of the fulness of Christ ? " A
system of things was had in those
days through which a Saint could
come up and be a perfect man in the
Lord Jesus, — a system by which
Sain t s could advance in the knowledge
of the things of God, to an under-
standing of his purposes, of their own
natures and characters, of their rela-
tionship to the Almighty, and of the
ordeals it was necessary for them to
pass through that they might be
perfected, as the Son of God waa
perfect.
This system of things, taught by
Christ and his apostles, was not then
first introduced ; it was known ages
before, and was established before the
foundations of the earth were laid.
I will quote a passage from the
Book of Doctrine and Covenants,
which will be found on page 85 r
section 4, paragraph 6 : —
" He that receiveth me (saith the
Lord) receiveth my Father ; and he
that receiveth my Father, receiveth
my Father's kingdom ; therefore all
that my Father hath shall be given
unto him, and this is according to
the oath and covenant which belon-
geth to the priesthood. Therefore
all who receive the priesthood, receive
this oath and covenant of my Father,,
which he cannot break, neither can
it be moved; but whoso breaketh
this covenant, after he hath received
it, and altogether turneth therefromr
shall not have forgiveness of sins in
this world nor in the world to
come,"
This is a revelation that has been
given to the Latter-day Saints, and
so far as respects its provisions in re*
ference to those who receive it, it is
precisely in keeping with those pass-
ages I have quoted from the New
PROO.RE*SSIO>T, ETC.
303
Testament ; they were the burden of
the teachings of the apostles in former
days; hot wore they presented now
to the Christian world by their min-
isters and religions teachers, they
would 1)6 considered startling. This
system of things was well known to
Adam after he was expelled from the
Garden of Eden ; it was well known
to Noah, and he preached it to the
Antediluvians for one hundred and
twenty years ; it was also known in
the days of Moses. He preached it to
the Israelites on the banks of the Red
Sea. u I would not have you ignor-
ant, " says the apostle, in reference to
this point, " how that oar lathers all
passed through the sea, were all un-
der the cloud, all ate the same spiri-
tual meat, all drank the same spiritual
drink, for they drank of that spiritual
rock which followed, and that rock
was Christ/' It is evident from
this t hat the Gospel of life was known
and practised there; but we are told
that, in consequence of wickedness
and unbelief, the Gospel was taken
from the people in the days of Mosrs,
because it did not profit them, and in
the place thereof was introduced a
system which was called the school-
master, to bring them to Christ. On
account of their wickedness and hard-
ness of heart they refused to avail
themselves of the privileges within
their reach, for when the Lord pro-
posed to come down into their midst
and talk with them face to face as he
did with Moses, they requested Moses
to officiate for them and speak with
the Almighty; and being filled with
unbelief and unwillingness to become
acquainted with God, their Father,
the Gospel and all its privileges were
withdrawn. But this Gospel has
been introduced at various times into
the world/ It was known by the
Prophets. They understood plaialy
and distinctly that Jesus was the
lamb slain from before the foundation
of the world ; and that in due season
he would manifest himself to the
children of men, that he would die
for their sins, and be crucified in
order to complete the plan of salva-
tion. The Prophets had the Gospel
and its advantages in their midst;
and the Holy Spirit that is ever con-
nected with it, was poured out upon
them in its fulness.
There was a certain blessing con-
nected only with obedience to the
Gospel, that was the gift of the Holy
Ghost. When people received the
ordinances of the Gospel they were
promised that they should receive the
gift of the Holy Ghost, The Savior
who undoubtedly knew best about
the nature and character of this gift,
said it should lead all who received
it into all truth and show them things
to come* It should be more than
that spirit which proceeds from God,
filling the immensity of space and en-
lightening every man that comes into
the world, the gift of the Holy Ghost
should lead into all truth, and show
them things to come* Furthermore,
in speaking of its effects, the apostle
snys: "The spirit is given to every
man to profit withal. To one is
given faith." Not a common, ordi-
nary faith, which some people pretend
to at the present day; but a faith
which enables its possessors to be
sawn asunder, to be cast into dens of
lions, fiery furnaces, and to undergo
tortures of every description. This
was the kind of faith that the Holy
Ghost conferred upon those who
possessed it, enabling its possessor to
stand in the midst of every difficulty,
defy every opposition and lay down
his life, if necessary, for the cause
that he had espoused* There was an
almighty inspiring power in this faith,
given by the Lord through the Holy
Ghost, which no other principle could
communicate* To one was given
faith, to another knowledge, not that
304
JOUBXAL OF DISCOURSES,
which is gained by reading hooks
merely, hot knowledge from the
Almighty. A sol (-inspiring principle
was upon them, which was tangible,
giving them a knowledge of the
cause they had espoused. They
knew by revelation from God that the
cause they had obeyed was true, it
was revealed to them in a manner
they could not dispute, and they
knew for the m selves. They were
then established, as we heard this
morning, upon the rock of revelation.
There is a great difference between
the possession of the Holy Ghost and
the mere possession of the Spirit of
God, Everybody has the Spirit of
God, that fa, the honest hearted, those
who are living according to the best
light they hnve. AH Christian Chur-
ches have it, those who seek truth
and righteousness. The Baptists, if
they are honest, have ^t; so have the
Presbyterians and the Methodists;
so also have all Christian and hea-
then nations. You go to China, and
mil honest hearted people there
have the Spirit of God; in fact we
are told that this is the light that
lights every man that cornea into the
world ; but to say that all have the
Holy Ghost, the gift that was prom-
ised to those who obeyed the Gospel,
it is not so. We can trace the provi-
dences of the Almighty in raising up«
certain individuals to establish religi-
ons organizations, and we see in these
things the workings of the Spirit of
God for the general interest of the
human family. We look upon George
Washington, the father of our coun-
try, as an inspired instrument of the
Almighty ; we can see the all-inspir-
ing Spirit operating upon him. And
upon his co-workers in resisting op-
pression, and in establishing the thir-
teen colonies as a confederacy ; and
then again the workings of the
same Spirit upon those men who es- ,
tablishcd the constitution of the Uni-
ted States, In a revelat ton contained
in the Book of Doctrine and Cove-
nants the Lord says : *' And for this
purpose have I established the Con-
stitution of this land by the hands of
wise men, whom I raised up unto
this very purpose." We sec the hand
of the Lord in these things. The
Christian Churches will not acknow-
ledge that which we acknowledge and
most firmly believe in regard to the
workings of Providence and the oper-
ations of the Spirit of the Lord upon
the hearts of the human family. We
can see not only what the Baptists,
Methodists, Quakers, Shakers, Pres-
byterians, and CampbeHifes see, —
the hand of the Lord working with
them, but we can see the hand of the
Almighty establishing a kingdom
spoken of in ages long past by Daniel
the Prophet, — a kingdom which shall
grow and spread until it fills the
whole earth, when light and intelli-
gence shall be so generally diffused
that it shall no longer be necessary
for any man to say to his fellows,
"Know ye tbo Lord," but all shall
know him, from the least unto the
greatest ; and when the Spirit of the
Lord shall be poured out upon all
flesh to such a degree that their sons
and their daughters shall prophesy,
their old men shall dream dreams,
their young men See visions, and
when there shall be nothing to hurt
or destroy in all the holy mountain
of the Lord,
There are some other considerations
connected with this subject worthy of
our attention. We have seen what
has been promised, and what en-
couragement was given or suggestions
made in regard to our progression, as
contemplated by the Prophets, in
their writings in the Old and New
Testaments. We see what God has
said to us in his revelations direct,
and we might bring up passage after
passage from the New Testament,
PROGRESSION, ETC.
305
Boot of Doctrine and Covenants and (
the Bonk of Mormon in regard to the
progression and happiness of his peo-
ple. Bat there are some consider-
ations connected with this to which I
will call your attention. The revela-
tions of the Lord, given in these latter
■days, say that all things shall be given
to those who receive the priesthood ;
but in connection with this promise
there are certain obligations which
have to be fulfilled on our part. That
same God and Father who tells us
whar great things await the faithful,
says : u Whoso layeth down his life
for my cause and for my name's sake
eh all receive it a^ain, even life eter-
nal j therefore fear not your enemies,
for 1 the L >rd have decreed in my
heart that I will prove you in all
things whether you will abide in ray
covenant even unto death, for he that
will not abide in my covenant is not
worthy of me"
Here we have, on one hand,
those extraordinary and wonderful
blessings; and, on the other, if we;
renounce the doctrine we have re*
ceived, or if we are unwilling to stand
up to the point, even of death, in ful-
filling the will of our Father in the
accomplishment of his work, we shall
be counted unworthy of the blessings
that are promised. '
Now, you take a man, no matter
from what country, if he be a man of
integrity, when he receives a know-
ledge of the truth, he will stand to
that knowledge; you can not perse-
cute it out of him by imprisoning
him, or taking away his property or
by destroying every source of his
happiness. Do what you can to
annoy and oppress him he will still
stand firm in his adherence to the
principles which he knows are true.
If we, as Latter-day Saints, are not
honest, we are certainly in a very bad
condition. When the Gospel reached !
us in the different nations whence we
No. 20,
came, the Spirit of the Lr>rd gave us
convictions of its truth, and, in the
honesty of our hearts, we received it,
and its blessings, otherwise we would
have stayed at our several home*. It
was promised us by the several Elders
who proclaimed the Gospel unto us,
that if we would do the will of God,
if we would obey the Gospel, we
should receive the gift of the Holy
Ghost; they said, as Peter said on
the day of Pentecost, Repent and be
baptized, every one of you, for the re-
mission of yoursins, and you shall re-
ceive the Holy Ghost Then, when they
spoke of the operations of the Hjly
Ghost, they described them as Jesus,
Paul, John and the Saints who re-
ceived it, testified in regard to it,
from the effects it had produced upou
them. Therefore, when the Gospel
was received under circumstances of
this nature, those who were its re-
cipients expected superior and extra-
ordinary blessings, blessings that
they could not reach in any other re*
ligious society. They were promised
such blessings as the religious socie-
ties said did not, nor ever would
exist, and <viuld not be received in
the future. They would acknowledge
that such blessings had been formerly
received through the Gospel, but
they said could not be received now
hence if those who obeyed the Gos-
pel as taught by the Elders of this
Church did not receive the blessings
promised, why do I see them before
me here to-day by thousands ? Why,
when traveling through the length
and breadth of this country, do
I -see people that have gathered,
comparatively, from almost every
nation under the sun ? If they re-
ceived not the blessings promised,
why are they here in this Territory,
in these valleys of the mountains?
They had better stayed at home. It
*s the most inconsistent thing imagin-
able to suppose that people, after
Vol. XIV.
30n
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES
being: deceived, should leave their
Country, homes and friends and cross
the wide oeean, and vast deserts into
a laud i hey knew nothing of. When
Ahrnhnin received the word to leave j
bit hi une and ki tad red he obeyed the
mandatts of the Almighty, and the
fact that thousands are now here, |
tettled through this long strip of I
country, over hills, valleys and moon-
ti i "is proves that they have done
the same; they have shown by their
acts that they have received the all-
insuring power of the Holy Ghost
which whs promised them, which re-
vealed to them that the Lord had
fulfilled the prophecy of his servant
Daniel — that without hands he had
cuT a atone from the mountains and
thai it had commenced to move j
ai id roll, and would continue on its
course until it had fulfilled the des-
tine predicted by the prophet.
If the pen pie here have not receiv-
ed the miraculous blessings promised
in connection with their obedience to
the Gospel, they are acting most in-
consistently, for they are perpetnat*
ii g upon their children and their
child Ten's children and upon future
gent t a ions a system hat is entirely
false, binding a yoke of tradition upon
them which, in its consequence, is be-
yond the power of language to ex-*
pi ess. The people are guilty of the
most gross offeree before the Al-
mitfhty, for they are not only injuring
tl e< nselves, but they are destroying
the happiness of on born generations*
Bat the fact that the work still con*
tinue*, and increases, and that, the
h j-t W"ids of the dying Saints to
tl er children and friends, aie: "I
knuw by the revelations of God that
this work is true," is strong pre-
sumptive proof of the absolute truth
of thin work.
If yon Saints here do not know this
work is the work of God, it is your
duty to ri&e up and declare you have
been deceived, acknowledge that the
Spirit of God has not been given yon,
and that the declaration of the
Elder who promised it is entirely
false, and thus try and correct the error
which you have been guilty of propa-
gating. At once, leave the Mormon
Church and you would assume a
position that would be more consis-
tent; then get a testimony from the
Almighty that some other Church
possesses the system of salvation ; get
a testimony from the Almighty that
the Book of Mormon, and Book of
Doctrine and Covenants are false,
and jusf the moment you get that
testimony where are you ? Where are
the words of the Apostle Peter :
M Repent and be baptized, every one
of you, and you aha II receive the
Holy Ghost?" Where are the
uords of the Lord Jesus ? He says,
41 It (>he Holy Ghost) shall lead
you into all truth and show yo\i
things to come." Where are the
words of the Apostle P. ul : Let
this same mind be in you which was
in Christ Jesus, who, finding himself
in the form of God, thought it not
robbery to be equal with God?*
Where are the words of John : We
know that we are the sons ot God,
and it does not yet appear w hat we
shall be* but we know that when ha
(Jesus) shall appear, we shall lie like
him, for we shall see him as hr is;
and etery man that hath this mind
in him purifies himself, even as God
is pure?" Throw these doctrines
aside, let them pass ; arid go to a
Methodist, Baptist, E pi scop* lean,
Quaker or Shaker, then where is your
Bible.
I testify before this assembly, as I
have testified before the people through-
out the different States of the Union,
and throughout England, ]i eland,
Scotland, Wales, Italy, Switzerland,
and France, that God Almighty,
through my obedience to the Gospel
PROGRESSION, ETC.
307
of J pens, has revealed to me, tangibly,
that rhts is the work of God, that this
is I iih Gospel, that this is his kingdom
which Daniel prophesied slum! I
Bet up in the last days. I prophesy
that any man who will be h alible be-
fore the Lord, any man who will, with
childlike simplicity, be baptized for
the remission of his flins, shall receive
the gift of the Holv Ghost, which
shall lead him into all truth and sh>w
hi ii t hititfa to come; he shall receive
a knowledge from the Almighty that
his kingdom h*s been established in
these latter days; and that it shn I J
never be thrown down or be left, to
another people.
In saying this, I say no more than
every man could say and has wad who
had a dispensation of the Gospel. I
would no' be here to-day, I would
Hot. Imve traveled over the f ice ot the
earth as I have for the last thirty -five
yenrrt an less God had revealed this
unto rue. I have already said nothing
bnt absolute duty ever inspired rue to
travel and preach this Gospel ; but [
received a dispensation fiorn the
Almighty, and I could gay and do say
now, tvs the Apostle Paul said : ** I
received not this Gtwpel from man,
but 1 received it by revelation froin
the Almighty." I say that, any man
who uiU humble himself before God
and vvill be immersed in water, after re-
pentance, for the remission of Ins
sins, shrill teeeive, through the laying
on ot hands, the gift of the Holy
Ghost. Can I give this to him? No,
I, simply as* a messenger of the Al-
mighty, to whom has been delegated
ant horny, administer immersion for
the remission of sins ; I simply im-
merse him in water, having authority
go to do. I simply lay my hands
upon him tor the reception of the
Holy Ghost, then God, from his
presence, acknowledges my authority,
acknowledges that I am his messen-
ger, and confers the Holy Ghost upon
'lie individual. Well, this is the
Gospel ; this is what makes a man a
savior of life unto life, as Jesu stold
his disciples they were.
Now talk about, this kingdom being
destroyed ! Talk about, nason upon,
lay plans here and there by the com-
bined wisdom of Governments to dfr.
stroy the kingdo n of God j why, you
might as well try to pluck the stars
from the Armament ot the ratjou or
the sun from its orbit! It can never
be accomplished, for it is the work of
the Almighty, I advise every man
who has a disposition to put forth his
hand against ibis work, to hold on
and consider. Take the advice of
Gamaliel the lawyer. Said he: * If
this is the work of God, ye can do
nothing against it; if it is cot, it will
come to naught."
Well, now, they say that the M >r-
mons nre fanatical* Well, it is \ery
good fanaticism. We have philos-
ophy, science, truth, the power of
God, and the testimony of gotxl men
on our side. I ran pick out twelve
men, with *\ horn I have been acqnain*
ted for the last twenty -five, thirty'
or thirty-five years, I have known
them under varied circumstances in
which their hearts have been proved,
their feelings tried, and their honesty
and integrity tested. Have I confi-
dence in such men ? I have, just t»s
much as J have when I read in
the New Testament about Twelve
A f jostles. I know nothing about
Peter, James, or the rest of the
Apostles; but these men I know
something about ; 1 have seen their
honor and integrity tried under various
circumstances in lite. Have I not
a right to believe in their testimony?
Most assuredly I have, and I wdl pro-
phesy of thetn, no, excuse me, I am not
in the habit of prophesying,! will pre-
dict, 1 will say here, that in gener-
ations to come, the doings of these
men will be read, the account of their
works in preaching the Gospel to the
nations of the earth, what they have
suffered for the cause of God; the
ira prison ment, contumely, drivings
from Ohio, Missouri, Jackson County,
and the northern counties in Missouri,
and from Illinois, and how they have
passed through all this and every-
thing by way of suffering that can be
imagined, and hate still adhered to
and borne their testimony to the
truth j their works will be read and
in generations to come people will
have just as much confidence in these
men as they now have in the Twelve
Apostles whoFe doings are recorded
in the New Testament. They are
just as good men I have every reason
to believe. As to the truth of what
these Apostles said, that I read about
here in the New Testament, I know
nothing about that at all, only what
I experience, through having observed
the same system they preached. They
received the blessings pertaining to
it, so have I received the blessings
which they promised should be con-
ferred upon those who received that
system. Therefore I and my brethren,
who have received a like experience,
are the only witnesses in regard to
the truth of what those Apostles
said ; we are the only witnesses in
regard to the truth of what Jesus
said, Jesus said, Be that will do the
will of my Father shall know of the
doctrine. We are witnesses that
Jesus told the truth. The Apostles say
that those who receive the Gospel by
baptism for the remission of sins, shall
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. We
are witnesses that they told the truth.
Can the Methodist or Presbyterian
ministers witness to these facts ? No,
they know nothing about them.
They received their certificates and
endowments at college, they trust in
the wisdom of man, to the knowledge
of the sciences, we trust to the power
of the Almighty. Perhaps it may be
said to us: "For ye see your call-
ing, brethren; how that not many
wise men after the flesh, not many
mighty, not many noble are called.
But God hath chosen the foolish
tilings of the world to confound the
wise; and God hath chosen the weak
things of the world to confound the
things which are mighty; and base
things of the world, and things which
are despised, hath God chosen, yea,
and tilings which are not, to bring to
naught things that are."
Well, I do not feel materially con-
cerned about anything that respects
the advancement and prosperity of
the kingdom of God. It is a matter
that I have not contrived, nor my
brethren ; it is the Lord's affair. He
has done this work- We never came
to these valleys through our own de-
signs and wishes; the Lord God
Almighty brought us here, and when
he wants us to leave these valleys, we
are just as well prepared to leave as
we were to come. We simply do
what the Lord our God commands us.
God loves his offspring, the human
family. His design is not simply to
furnish happiness to the few here,
called Latter-day Saints* The plan
and scheme that he is now carrying
out is for universal salvation ; not
only for the salvation ot the Latter-
day Saints, but for the salvation of
every man and woman on the face of
the earth, for those also in the spirit
world, and for those who may here-
after come upon the face of the earth.
It is for the salvation of every son
and daughter of Adam. They are the
offspring of the Almighty, he loves
them all and his plans are for the
salvation of the whole, and he will
bring all up into that position in
which they will be as happy and as J
comfortable as they are willing to be.
Our mission is to the world, and not
simply to carry the Gospel to the j
people, but to establish plans and lay
i
PROGRESSION, ETC.
309
schemes for their temporal salvation.
Our object is the temporal salvation
of the people as much as it is for
their spiritual salvation. By arid by
the nations will be broken up on
account of their wickedness, the Lat-
ter-day S tints are not going to move
upon them with their little army,
they will destroy themselves with
their wickedness and immorality.
They will contend and quarrel one
with another, state after state and
nation after nation, until they are
broken up, and thousands, tens oi
thousands and hundreds of thousands
will undoubtedly come and seek pro-
tection at the hands of the servants
of God, as much so as in the days of
Joseph when he was* called upon to
lay a plan for the salvation of the
house of Israel,
We have received revelation and,
accordingly, we are here in these
mountain valleys, and we are going
to stay here. We shall cultivate our
farms, and lay foundation for a time
when the nations shall be broken up.
Multitudes will then flee to these
valleys of the mountains for safety,
and we shall extend protection to
them. Yon may say, shall you re-
quire them to be baptized and to
become Latter-day Saints? Not by
any means. I meet with gentlemen
from time to time, trom different
portions of the Union. I never
offer them my religious views unless
they see* them. 1 am not anxious
to push my religious view's upon any
man. 1 will do them all the good I
can. If a gentleman comes into my
neighborhood, a stranger, I will say,
"Will you have something to eat?
Is there anything I can di> fur you ?iy
I am not anxious to make a " Mor-
mon " of him, not by any means; we
extend the hand of charity just as far
as people are willing to allow us; but
when, as I said at the beginning,
people are crowding upon us, persons
who are determined to destroy us and
have not the principles of humanity
in their bosoms, we cannot exercise
that charity iu their behalf that we
desire.
Well, we expect to do good ; it is
onr duty, ;is the servants and minis-
ters of God upon the earth, to do good
to his offspring This is our mission,
and it is as much our duty to do good
to those who do not receive the Gos-
pel, as it is to do good to ourselves ;
and God will give us the opportunity,
just according to our desiies, despite
the efforts of" evil-minded men. Our
business is to *uve, not to destroy, and
as we improve and advance, and de-
velop the attributes of deity within
us God will remove from our path
the impediments and obstacles to our
progress that are found therein; and
the bitter branches, as they increase
or manifest themselves, will be re-
moved one after another, until the
people of God have all the oppor-
tunity they desire to do good to
the world.
I have occupied timo sufficient.
God b.ess you. Amen.
■
310 - JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
DISCOURSE ET ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON
DauvsaRn in thb Tabbbjucle, Salt Lake City, So*day Afternoon,
December 3rd, 1871,
: t-
(Reported bjf David IP. Evans.)
— o
THE NEW BIRTH— BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD — TEMPLES,
I will read a portion of the 3rd
chapter of Peter's first epistle, com-
mencing fit the ISth verse:
For Christ also harh once suffered
for sins, the just fur the unjust, that
he might bring us to Gud, bein^ put
to death in the flesh, but quickened
by the Spirit:
By which also he went and preach*
ed unto the spirits in prison ;
Which sometimes were disobedient,
when once the long-suffering of God
waited in the days of Noah, while the
ark was a preparing, wherein few, tbftt
is, eight son la, were saved by water,
The like 6gure whereunto even bap-
tism doth also now save us, (not the
putting away of the tilth of the flesh,
but the answer of a good conscience
toward God,) by the resurrection of
Jesus Christ:
Who is gone into heaven, and is on
the right hand of God ; angels, and
authorities, and powers behjg made
subject unto him.
In the fourth chapter of this epistle
the same subject is continued. The
apostle says :
Who are kept by the power of God
through faith unto salvation, ready
to be revealed in the last time.
Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though
now for a reason (if need be) ye are
in heaviness through manifold temp-
tat inns.
When I was called upon to speak,
these passages suggested themselves
to my mind* Whether the Spirit
will lead me to dwell upon them at
length I do not know, but there are
important principles embodied in
these verses which I have read in
your hearing, principles which, when
rightly understood, change the belief
of men in relation to the future, that
is, the belief of those who receive the
commonly accepted creeds of Christi-
anity. For some reason or o theft
there is an idea prevalent in the
Christian world that mankind, when
they lay down their mortal lives, are
consigned to a condition or place of
happiness or pain, there to remain
throughout the endless ages of eter-
nity. There may be a fe^v who do
not entertain this belief, but it is the
general belief of most of the sects
which comprise Christendom, There
is an idea prevalent that if men do
not receive what may lie termed a
conversion, or change of heart, i! they
do not obtain a remission of sins
through the blood of Jesus, and they
die in this condition, their doom is
THE NEW BIRTH, ETC.
311
irrevocably fixed, and that they are '
consigned to eternal, never-ending
misery, I believe that t do not mis-
state the belief, in this respect, of
some of the most prominent sects that
comprise the Christian world, so-
culled* I have conversed with minis-
ters of various denominations in re-
lation to the future of the heathen —
those who die without a knowledge
of the name of Jesus, and of his eh*r* 1
acter as the Redeemer and Savior of
the world, I have asked them what
they thought the condition of the
hear hen would be, and where any
definite answer was made, the feelings
of such persons would lean to the idea
that they would be consigned to hell ;
with others, either no definite idea
wari entertained, or, being more ten-
der in their feelings, the answer
would be, they did not know what
their fa tare condition would be.
Theie is an expression of the
Savior's to Nicodemus, which I think
I will read ; it is found in the 3rd
chapter of John's Gospel. There
was a man of the Pharisees, John
writes, named Nicodemus, a ruler of |
the Jews; the same came to Jesus
by night and said unto him, Rabbi,
we know thou art a teacher come
from God, for no man can do these
miracles that thou doest except God
be with hirn.
Jesus answered and said unto him,
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Ex-
cept a man be born again, he cannot
see the kingdom of Go 1.
Nicodemus siith unto him, How
can a man be born when he is old Jr
Can he enter the second time into his
mother's womb and be born ?
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I
say unto thee, Kxcept a man be born
of water and of the Spirit, he cannot
enter into the kingdom of God.
Tint which is born of the flesh ia
flesh ; and that which is burn of the
Spirit is spirit.
Marvel not that I said unto thee,
Ye must be born agrain.
Now here is a definite doctrine laid
down by the Sa i >r, t'mt unless a
man is born again he can no* se** the
kingdom of God, and unless he is
born of the water and of the Spirit he
can not enter into the kintjdom of
God; hn can not even see the king,
dom without 'he new birth, and he
can not enter that kingdom without
being born of the water and of the
Spirit. This doctrine is exceedingly
positive, it leaves no room for doubt ;
there is no chance to evade the fact of
this doctrine if there is to he any re*
liance placed upon the words of Jesus.
Then, we are forced to the belief that
no man can enter into the kingdom
of God unless he is born of the water
and of the Spirit
Well, taking these passives into
consideration, a large class of people
have come to ihe conclusion that uq.
less a man is born a^ain, or, as they
terra it, experience a change of heart,
he is consigned to endless misery;
and there are those who believe tUat
all the heathen who have died in
ignorance of the Gospel of Jesus
Ctiristare thus punished, and, in fact,
there are those who profess to have faith
in Jesus Christ as the Savior of the
world, who believe that in hell, that
place of torment from which they de-
clare there is no escape, there are in-
fants by scores, and hundreds and
thousands, and I may say by millions,
enduring inconceivable and endless
torment because thev have died before
receiving the ordinances which they
consider necessary to salvation,
I do not thus understand rhe Scrip-
tures, I do not thus understand the
plan of salvation; I do not thus viei?
the charader and dealings of God our
heavenly Father with his create res*
One of the most prominent attributes
which we ascribe to our Father ia
heaven is mercy, Tbe Scriptures de-
312 JOURNAL OF
clare most emphatically that he is a
God of mercy, and a God of love.
Can we, even in our degraded con-
dition, consider a being endowed in
the least decree with the attributes
of Jove and mercy, or even of justice,
who would consign millions of his
creatures to endless torment because
they do not believe and obey a doc-
trine which they never heard? Why
such an idea is unworthy of intelligent
beings* Suppose that any of us who
have families should pass a law or
prescribe a rule for their government,
and at the time it is passed or pre-
scribed, a portion of our children are
not within hearing, and while still in
ignorance of it, they unconsciously
violate it, and because of this the
father punishes them. What would
you say of such a father ? Woo Id
you not say that he was unjust, harsh
and cruel ? Why, certainly this
would be onr verdict, if we pronoun-
ced any, we could not pronounce
otherwise. We would be compelled
to come to the conclusion that the
father who would act in this manner
would neither be kind, just or wise. |
And shall it be said of our heavenly
Father, who is the fountain of love, ;
mercy and justice, that he will act
with less justice than man, and that
he will punish, curse and consign to
eternal misery, his children, because
th^y have failed to obey the laws he
has never made known to them ?
Certainly not; and it is on account
of these doctrines, which have been
propounded and circulated so widely
in Christendom, that skeptics are
numbered by hundreds of thousands
and it may be said by millions. The
feelings of the people recoil, humanity
revolts at such monstrous doctrines,
and the growth of skepticism and
infidelity may be traced to the fact
that such hideous principles are advo- I
cated by those professing to be servants
of the living God and the ministers
DISCOURSES.
of Jesus Christ But do the Scrip-
tures, the words of eternal lire, as
recorded in the Bible, inculcate such
ideas? Certainlv not. There is in
! the plan of salvation, which God our
heavenly Father has revealed, perfect
love, meicy and justice, and every
other attribute which pertains to the
character of Deity are periectly illust-
rated in the plan of salvati n which
he has revealed for man's guidance.
The words of Jesus which I have
read to you, contain an immutable
truth: that except a man be born
again he can not see the Kingdom of
God, It is an immutable truth that,
except a man be born of the water
and of the spirit, he can not enter the
Kingdom of God. These words pro-
ceeded from the mouth of Jesus, the
Son ol God, the author of our salva-
vation, the founder of our religion*
He was perfectly acquainted with
the laws necessary to be obeyed in
order to effect an entrance into his
Father's kingdom; and being thus
acquainted, he had the right as well
as the knowledge necessary to advance
and proclaim this doctrine to Abe chil-
dren of men.
While we are upon the subject we
may as well make a few remark*
upon the nature of this new birth of
which Jesus speaks. As I have told
you, and as you well know, t here is a
large class in Christendom who be-
lieve that this new birth consists of
what they term a change of heart;
if the heart undergoes a change they
say the creature is born again. Now,
1 do not ho understand the Scriptures,
I do not think that the change of
heart thus referred to, is the new
birth to which the Savior refers ; on
i the contrary, it says here in great
plainness, that they must be burn of
the water as well as of the Spirit. Not
I for the putting away the filth of the
flesh, as I read to you in the passage
from Peter, but for the auswer of a
THE NEW BIRTH, ETC
313
good conscience towards God. .Testis,
as you will recollect, on the occasion
when John the Baptist, as he was
called, was baptizing in Jordan, went
and offered himself to John as a can-
didate for baptism. John, having* re-
ceived a testimony from the Father
that Jesus was his beloved son in
whom he was well pleased ; knowing
also that he, himself, was the fore-
runner of Jesus spoken of by the
Prophets, declined to baptize him,
saying, in effect, it is better for me
to submit to thee than thee to sub-
mit to me. Jesus replied, Suffer it
to be so now, to fulfil all righteous-
ness. Th^n John took Jesus and
baptized him.
Here we \\pve an example on the
part of our Savior of obedience to
a certain ordinance. Some say that
in this ordinance Jesus had water
poured upon him, others say he wag
sprinkled, and a gr at many of the
popular pictures represent him stand-
ing in tin* Jordan with his arms fold-
ed across his breast and John the
Baprist poit i^ng water on his head ;
but a careful perusal of the writings
of thus** who have described this
event will leave but one conclusion on
the un prejudiced mind, and that is
that Jesus went down into the water
and was baptized by John, and came up
out of the water; and that it pouring
or sprinkling had been the method of
administering the ordinance of bap-
tism, there would have been no ne-
cessity for John and the people of
Jerusalem and the regions round
about, to have gone the distance that
intervened between the river Jordan
and Jerusalem to attend to it, and in
fact there are other passages in the
Scriptures which go to prove that
immersion was the method of baptism,
and that John so administered the
ordinance* In one passage of Scrip-
ture it is said that John was baptizing
at a place near Euon, because there
was much water there, showing that
an abundance of water was necessary
for its correct administration. This
was the ordinmce that Jesus sub-
mitted to. He was the Son of God,
the Lamb slain from brfore the foun-
dation of the world ; he was spotless
and sinless in the fight of his Father,
yet he considered it necessary to at*
tend to this ordin mce that lie nrrght
fulfil all righteousness ; and it is a
remarkable fact that we have no
account in the Scriptures of Jesus
acting in his ministry until he had
attended to this ordinance.
This, as I understand the Scrip-
tures, and as the Latter-day Saints
testify, was the new birth. He went
down into one element, was buried in
that element, and, emergiug there-
from, was bom again, in other words
was born of the water. Can you im-
agine a new birth more perfectly re-
presented than by this act which I
have described, performed by John
upon Jesus ? After this birth of the
water had taken place, the birth of
the Spirit followed, for as soon as he
came up out of the water, the Holy
Ghost, in the likeness of a dove, descen-
ded upon him, and a voice was heard
from heaven test ifying that he was the
beloved son in whom the Father was
well pleased. Jesus was enveloped
in that spiritual element, and was
born of the Spirit as he had been
bom of the water. Thus, in his own
case, he illustrated, by his obedience
and humility to the will of his Father,
the doctrine which he taught to Nico-
de nus, and which he declared was
necessary to prepare not only him but
all the children of men to enter into
the kingdom of God. Paul, also, in
one place, speaks of being buried with
Christ in baptism in the likeness of
his burial, in the likeness also of his
resurrection } the burial in the liquid
grave being symbolical of the death
and burial of the Son of God, and the
coming forth therefrom of his re-
surrection,
fJ I ■ is doctrine is clearly laid down
in the Scriptures. You will find it
if you trace the preaching and the
I -bors of the Apostles and Hie men
who were immediately connected with
the Lord in his ministration*: to the
people. You will find tl j at in even
instance where the records are com-
plete, these ordinances wer-- Attended
to — the people, if they believed in
Jesus Christ and repented of their
sins, wen* baptized , in order that
they might he born nf the water; and
after attending to this ordinance, they
were then baptised of the Sptrit, or,
in other word*, had bands hud upon
■them for the gift of the Holy Ghost
They were enveloped in and born of
that Spirit, bt d became le^al heirs of
and entitled to an entrance into the
kingdom of God. There is not an
instance of any other kind found on
record in the Scriptures. We often
quote the teachings of Peter, him-
self, on the day of Pentecost, to prove
tli is?, and in passing along 1 may a.s
well briefly allude to it
On the day of Pentecost, after the
Jews had been convinced of the fact
that Jesns the Naz-irene, who had
been crucified us a malefactor, was
indeed the very Messiah of whom the
Prophets had spoken j when they
were convinced of this and also of
the fact that the men who stood and
preached in their midst, and through
whom they had seen the power of
■God manifested, were his Apostles,
they cried : 4'Men and brethren, what
shall we do?" They felt that they
were sinners ; probably, for aught we
know,tbey had consented in their feel-
ings to the death of this holy being,
and they gave vent to their anxiety
in the expression I have already
quoted. Now it is to be presumed
that on that, occasion Peter declared
the Gospel in its fulness and purity,
as it existed in the mind of God, and
as it bad been revealed to him by
Jesus. We can not presume that he
taught something' he was not warran-
ted in teaching, something that was
not the Gospel, for the occasion was
one of the most important, probably,
that the Church witnessed in that
gene ration. It was, as far as we know,
the first proclamation of the Gospel
after the death of Jesus, and it was
certainly the first time the power of
God was manifested to such a wonder-
ful extent Peter, then, standing up,
inspired not only with the greatness
of the occasion, but with the sub-
limity of the manifestations th.it had
been poured out by God, by the fact
that he, for the first time, was declar-
ing the Gospel in the ears of i he assem-
bled Jews at Jerusalem who had
crucified Jesus, also by rhe spirit and
power of his great office, we can not
doubt that he declared the Gospel in
simplicity and plainness, and lie said,
in reply to their very important
question, Repent and be baptized,
every one of you, for the remission of
your sins, ami ye shall receive the
Holy Ghost ^
Now here were the two births of
which I have spoken. They already
believed that Jesus was the Christ,
and they were told to repent, and be
baptized for the remission of their
sins; not, I repeat a^aiu, for
the putting away of the tilth
of the flesh, but for the remission
of their sins, that they might
be born of the water, that they might
become suitable cmdidares to receive
the Holy Spirit Peter continued:
u And ye shall receive the Holy
Ghost, for the promise is unto you
and to your children, and to 'all
that are afar off; even as many as the
Lord our God shall call1* And they
went and were baptized, and we are
told that three thousand were added
to the Church on that occasion* This
THE NEW BIRTH, ETC,
315
is only an example of what the
Apostles afterwards taught. I do nut
intend, this afternoon, to quote the
numerous instances that occur in the
-Scriptures where this doctrine was
taught, where it was obeyed by those
unto whom it was taught, mid the
blessings that followed obedience;
but 1 call attention to (he fact that
this doctrine was set forth by the
Apostles even as Jesus taught it and
even as Jesus o eyed it, and that
* they administered the ordinances as
the Lord had taught them.
It may be said, Ho* is it possible
for the mill ions that exist on the face
of the earth to obey this doctrine?
This question is very frequently asked
us, because the Latter-day Saints
dwell very considerably upon this
part of the Gospel, and upon the
necessity of these ordinances being
obeyed. The question, very natur-
ally, immediately rises in the minds
of men, if it be necessary that all
men and women should be born of
the water and of the Spirit, then
what is to become of the millions
who have died and have not had the
opportunity? I recollect, on one
occasion, when quite a youth, speak-
ing upon this principle of b iptism,
and dwelling at some length, upon
the necessity of people yielding
obedience to it. After I had got
through, a gent Ionian walked up to
me, and said he had been very much
interested in rny remarks, but one
difficulty had suggested itself to his i
mind,and he would like to have me ex-
plain* Said he, you doubtless recol- I
lect when Jesus wan crucified there
were two thieves with him, one of
whom upbraided and railed at him.
This called forth a rebuke from the
other thief, who, t timing to Jesus,
said, * 4 Lord, remember me when thou
comes t into thy kingdom." Jesus
replied in this wise : " To-day shalt
thou be with me in paradise." Now, !
said the gentleman, a if your doctrine
be correct, that a man must be born
of the witer and of the Spirit l>efore
he can enter the kingdom of God, I
would like to know how that
thief entered that kingdom." Well,
looking at this from his standpoint,
it was a very plausible question, nnd
it looked as though his position was
incontrovet table. But did Jesus en-
ter into the kingdom of God when he
was crucified ? Did he, when he was
ciucified, enter upon the glory he
afterwards attained unto, and did the
thief accompany him? I know that
many Clnistian ministers, so-called,
believe this, I know they teach it.
In reading the newspapers I fre-
quently see accounts of the execution
of vile criminals, whose entire lives
have been spent in the com mission
of revolting crimes. Christian min-
isters, so-called, attend these criminals
while incarcerated in jail, and to the
gallows; they pray with them and
endeavor to awaken them to a sense
of their lost condition, and frequently
they are successful, fot many influen-
ces are hi ought to bear on the minds
of malefactors at Buch times and their
hearts are softened at the near pros-
pect of death. Then, when these minis-
ters accompany theoi to the scatfuld
they will pray with them there, a-d
they assure them that through the
merits and death of Jesus they will
be ushered into the kingdom of
heaven as soon as they are executed*
This is the invariable assurance given
to criminals who will listen to them,
by ministers of this description. They
believe that the thief on the cross was
ushered into the immediate presence
of God, there to dwell eternally in
peace ami felicity. This was the
view entertained by this gentleman I
have mentioned.
If you will i urn and real the
account of the resurrection ot Jesus,
you will find an explanation of this
JOURNAL OF
DISCOURSES.
, that probably many have not thought
of* You recollect that after the death
of Jesus, and after he had been placed
in the sepulchre, there was great
anxiety on the part of the Apostles
and those who had been familiar with
Jesus, as to his body. They looked
for his resurrection, they expected
him to come furth, but they were
filled with doubt and anxiety, for
they had the idea that he would re-
turn king of Israel, that the set time
had come for the establishment of
God's kingdom on the earth never
more to be thrown down. Among
others who were very anxious about
this, was Mary, one ot the women who
had attenrief upon Jesus. She went
to the sepulchre and found that the
body of her Lord and Master had
been taken away, and she could not
find it. She turned around, full of
grief and anxiety about him whom
she loved, and saw a personage stand-
ing beside her, whom she supposed to
be the gardener, and she inquired of
him what they had done with the
body of her Lord. It was Jesus to
whom she addressed herself, but she
did not recognize him at fiist, and
failed to do so until he uttered her
name. When he said," Mary," then
she recognized his voice and person,
and, as was very natural under the
circumstances, in the excess of her
joy, she rushed forward to clasp him ;
but he stepped back, and forbade her,
in those remarkable words : " Touch
me not, Mary, for 1 have not yet
ascended to my father ; but go to my
disciples, and tell them that I ascend
to my Father and to their Father, to
my God and to their God/' This
waa the third day af ter his crucifixion,
and during this time he had not
ascended to his Father, and he did
not want to be touched, he did not
want mortal hands put upou him
When I quoted this to this gentle-
man, said he, *' Where was he then,
j during this period ? If he did not
ascend to his Father, and if the para-
dise to which the thief went with
him, was not heaven, then where was
he?" I then quoted to him the
words I first read this afternoon, " If
Christ also has once suffered for
sin, eic.
Here Peter gives the explanation,
and it is as plain and unmistakable
as language can make it. Jestis died
on the cross, he was crucified and put
to death in the flesh, as the Apostles
say, and after being put to death he
went and preached to the spirits
winch were in prison, spirits which
were diso bid ient in the days of Noah,,
having rejected Noah's testimony,
and they had been incarcerated in
prison for some twenty -five hundred
years. He wan engaged in this labor-
while his body lay in the tomb, and
hence, when Mary saw him a her his
resurrection, and attempted to em-
brace him, he said, " Touch me not,
Mary, for I have not yet ascended to
my Father, etc."
Now by this I do not mean to infer
that after his crucifixion, when bis
spirit had left his body, he got out-
side the presence of his Father, for-
■ the presence, power and eyes, of God
are everywhere; but he did not ag-
1 cend to his immediate personal pre-
sence until after his body was resur-
rected from the tomb, And in fur-
ther confirmation of the view which I
am endeavoring to &et forth to youf,
1 the Apostle Peter, continuing this
subject, as I read to you Irorn the 4th
chapter of his first epistle, says, " For
for this cause was the Gospel preached
also to them that are dead, that t hey
might be judged according to men in,
the flesh, but live according to God
in the Spirit" " Ah," says one,
"dead in sin!" Who told you so?
What right has any man to put such,
an interpretation on the Scriptures ?
The declaration here is as plain as
THE NEW BIRTH, ETC
317
language can make it, "Gospel was
preached also to them that are dead/*
<fce., confirming what the Apostle had
said in the previous chapter, that Jesus
was engaged in preaching the Gospel to
the spirits in prison while, as I have
said, his body slumbered in the tomb.
Now do you see and comprehend
anything of the loner suffering and
mercy of God nnto the millions who
have been bom and di<jd on our rarth
in ignorance of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ ? Do you comprehend the great
plan of salvation! or a portion of that
great plan which Gud our heaven-
ly Father has devised for the redemp-
tion of all his children? Shall we
say that God's work is confined to
this short probation of ours, that his
labor for the salvation of his children
and the plan that he tuts devised are
confined to this brief space that we
call time, or shall we say that God's
plan of salvation extends over all his
creatures and throughout all his cre-
ations, and that if men don't have
opportunities here of understanding
it, they will have that opportunity
hereafter ? This is set forth in these
chapters with great plainness, and so
as to leave no doubt upon the minds
of those who are disposed to accept
the Scriptures as they read. Of
course, where men have traditions
a^d p re-conceived vi^ws and ideas
concern ing these matters they are
likely to cling to them and reject the
truth. They \vould rather believe
that nine-tenths of the human family
would be consigned to endless tor-
ment than accept the idea that God
is a God of mercy, and that the plan
of salvation which he has devised is
all-sufficient and extends to all grades,
conditions and circumstances, in
which his creatures are found.
This doctrine was reveJed to the
Latter-day Saints through the Pro-
phet Joseph Smith. We were as ig-
norant of it and of the meaning of
these passages as anybody else previ-
ous to the establishment of this
Church, Among other doctrines that
were taught to the Prophet Joseph,
was this which I have endeavored to
set forth briefly before you. I have
not dwelt upon it at length, but it
was taught in great plainness to the
Prophet, and he taught it to the peo-
ple. The Prophet Malachi, you re-
collect, predicts that before the great
and terrible day of the Lord comes,
the Lord will send Elijah, the Pro-
phet, and he will turn the hearts of
the fathers to the children, and the
hearts of the children to the fathers,
least the Lord come and smite the
earth with a curse- You can read
this in Malacht ; and when the Latter-
day Saints heard this Gospel, and
became acquainted with the faet that
it was necessary for men and women
to be baptized for the remission of their
sins, their hearts immediately yearned
for their ancestors. I have heard hun-
dreds of persons who have joined this
Church say, "Oh, that my father,
1 mother, brother, sister, husband, wife,
children, grandfather or grandmother
had heard this doctrine as the Elders
teach it ! How gladly they would
have embraced it! How their hearts
would have warmed towimls this
Gospel! They lived in anticipation of
some such doctrine as this; they
were not satisfied with the creeds of
men, or with Christianity as taught.
They wanted the gifts, graces and
blessings of the Gospel, Oh, that
they could have lived and heard the
teachings that we now hear, that God
has revealed from the heavens, the
ancient and pure Gospel, with the
Holy Ghost and the gifts thereof!
! Oh, how their hearts would have been
gladdened to have heard these glad
tidings ! Thus were the hearts of the
children turned towards the fathers,
1 and I doubt not the hearts of the fathers
were turned towards the children-
There was an anxiety among the
people in this church for many years,
in relation to what would beco ne of
their ancestors and the world at large
who were not acquainted with the
Gospel, until the Lord condescended
to give a revelation in which this
doctrine was explained. By turning to
the tirst epistle to the Corinthians^you
will find there that the Apostle Paul,
in reasoning up m the resurrection, ad-
vanced an idea which is not generally
understood. In the 15th chapter and
29th verm of I hat epistle the Apostle
uses this language: '* Else what shall
they do whiVh are baptized for the
dead ? If the dead rise not at ill,
why *re they then baptized for the
dead ?n
ffoff.amnnffotherargumenlfl which
he brought forth to convince the
Corinthians that there was such a
thing1 as a resurrection he appeals
to the fact that there whs such a
doctrine hs baptism lor the dead in the
Church and practised by the former
day Stints, and to enforce the dob-
trine he uses the words I have re id,
one ol the most powerful argntm tits
that he could adduce in favor ot the
resurrection. How useless it would
l>e for men and women to be bap-
tized for the dead, if the dead ris*»
not at all; hut the dead do rise, and
the Saints are baptized for them. I
might paraphrase his words and
reason upon them in this way. The
dead are baptised, fur we are baptized
for them, and they do rise or else Kill
our labor would be in vain in going
forth and being baptiz d for them.
Now, here is a doctrine that lias ln?en
hidden. True, it is only a slight
allusion, but it is sufficient to show
that there was in the ancient Church
such a doctrine believed in and prac-
tised by the Saints of God.
u Oh,'* but says one, " how can the
dead be born of the water and the
Spirit; suppose that Jesus went and j
p reached to the spirits in prison, and
among the rest to the thief who was
on the cross when he got to paradise,
as you explain the Gospel, how could
he, in the spirit world, be born of the
water and of the Spirit f* A very
serious question, but here is the ex-
planation: those who are alive in the
Hesh can go forth and be baptized for
them. " What ! Be baptized for the
dead? And will that stand?" I
would ask ihose who object to this,
how is it that the death of Jesus, the
Son of God, affects our salvation ?
He acts for us vicariously; by his
vicarious atonement he redeems us
from the effects of the transgression
of our first paints. As in Adam all
die, so in Christ shall all be made
aliva Death came into the world
by Adam, Adam did not die to re-
deem the world, hut Jesus came ft ir-
w«rd, vicariously, as the Savior of
the world, and died to redeem ns
from Adam's sin, Through his death
Adam's sin is atoned for. In like
manner, J! a I chi say^, in speaking of
the Prophet Elijah coming before
the great and terrible day of the
Lord: u The hearts of the lathers
niia 1 1 be turned to the children."
W h ■ t for ? Because th e child reti
can act viciriously for them; uand
the heart* of the chddren shall be
turned to the fathers/* because the
children will feel after their fathers;
they will search for the*r genealogies,
and learn of their ancestors, and they
will ^o forth and perlorra ordinances
in the flesh for their dead, widen the
dead can not perform tor themselves,,
and act vicariously for fhem, and so
fulfil the saying of the Prophet Qbe-
diah, where he says, u There shall be
Raviors in the last days on Monut
Zioo." They shall stand as minis-
ters of salvation. There shall be
saviors in the last days, acting in
a lesser capacity, it is true, but still
somewhat in the capacity of our Lord
THE NEW BIRTH, ETC*
and Savior Jesus Christ, for their |
dead* Not atoning fur the oiigiual
sin, not .shedding their blmvd, bur
goin^ forth and being baptized fur
them and receiving the ordinances of
Salvation in their behalf. |
I know that this doctrine is new,
and to many startling; it comes in
contact with all their prejudices. But
I would H>k the Christian world how
mankind are to be saved ? Can you
substitute anything better than this?
Ho * fire the millions of heathens who
have died in ignorance of the name
of Jesus to be saved ? How are our
ancestors to be saved, who, living
and - i v 1 1 1 lt in 'he lon^ night of dark-
Less which prevailed through Chris-
tendom, never had the privilege of
bearing t he Gospel in its fulness ?
"Oh," nays one, "saved by the good-
Be:-sof God/* Yes, hut how shall we
elude the words of Jesus where he
says, " Except a man be born again
he e n not see the Kingdom of
God ;^ and tk Except a man he born
of the wuUt and of the Spirit he can
not enter into the Kingdom of God ?*'
It is very easy for men in their tra-
ditions to say ; "Well, our way scita
tis, because we h *ve been accustomed
to if.** Bat if we accept these tra-
dition* hs binding, how shall we set
aside the wonts of him who spoke
as never man spake, of him who was
without if n ile and whose words were
truth and holiness? How shall we
Set the n aside? We can not, and
rather than attempt to do so I would
acvefif them as true and divine, and
practise them, even though it requir-
ed the sacrifice of my traditions an i
pivju lice*. To my mind there is
ao nething godlike in the Gospel of
salvation I can see beauty, and the
power ot Go I in it I understand
from this that there is a plao of sal*
vation capable of saving all men;
that though there is a space between
death and the resurrection, during
that space the spirits of those who
died without the Gospel can fc>e
pieached to, and can receive the Gos-
pel of the Lord Jesus Christ, though
they died in ignorance ot it,
A ^reat many have wondered how
it is that the LaHer-d \y Saints are m
anxious fo have tenples built. We
built a temple in Kirtland, and afier
we had built it we were compelled to
ieave it arid fine to Missouri. We
laid thePmndationsof two in Mi-sotiri,
one in Jackson County, the other in
Caldwell Comity. That in Caldwell
was not laid until after we were
driven from thrre. A revelation
was given through Joseph S mil,
I think on the Ilrh of July,
that on the succeeding 2'iih of
April, the foundation stone of the
temple should ue tad i-i Ftr
West; find the Twelve Apo* 'eS
should take th**ir departure fro u that
corner stnne, and rro^ the ocean to
preach the Gospel in E irope, N«w,
said the mob, u There b>dng a date
fixed to this revelation, if Joseph
Smith never was a hilse prop »et l>e-
fore, we will make him one now,"
and they turned and drove the Lat-
ter-day Saints from Missouri, and
made it worth a man's life to 30 hick
there, if he was a Mormim. They
drove every one out of Missouri, uu-
der a ban of extermination, in (lie
winter previous to the time Met for
the fulfillment of this ivvelat
That whs in the winter of I ' ^ 9 ;
and th'-re were but very few left, m l
they were in peril of their lives all
the time. J iseph, Hy rum and several
l of the lending* El ieis were in prison,
and it seemed as though the words of
Joseph would fall to the ground that
time, at any rate. President Young
w.js then President of the Twelve
Apostles; he Mth others had to tlee
to Quincy, and he proposed to his
fellow Apostles that they should oq
up to Missouri, to fultil that reve-
320 JOURNAL OF
if
la t ion. Father Joseph Smith, father
of the Prophet, thought that the
Lord would take the will for the
deed, and it would not be necessary.
He telt as though there would be
great danger in the undertaking, and
that the brethrens* lives would be in
peril; A good many of the other
Elders felt the same, but the Spirit
rested upon President Young and his
brother Apostles, and they determined
to go, and they did go, and, according
to the revelation, they laid the corner
stone in the town of Far West Thev
laid it in the midst of their enemies;
they sang their songs, ordained two
of the Twelve, and if I recollect
right, two of the Seventies, and then
shook hands with the Saints there,
bade them adieu, and took their de-
parture for Europe, thus fulfilling the
word of G<>d given nearly a year pre*
viousl> through the Prophet Joseph,
and which the enemies of the King-
dom of God said should never be
fulfilled.
That foundation stone was laid,
and the Saints, as I said, fled into
Illinois, and there laid the foundation
of a temple at Nauvoo, Illinois, the
finest building then in the western,
country, and the admiration of every-
body. The Saints erected it in the
midst of poverty, destitution, sick-
ness, death, and, I may say, with the
sword or rifle in one band and the
trowel in the other, their enemies
surrounding them on every hand.
They had slain Joseph and Hyrum,
and attempted to destroy others of
the servants of God, and they were
continually burning and destroying
the houses and property of the Saints,
and were determined to expel them
from the State/ But in the midst
of these tribulations the Saints con-
tinued their labors until that temple
was roofed in, and until within its
walls they could attend to the ordi-
nances for the living and the dead.
DISCOURSES.
I Again they were driven, and again
they took up their line of march, and
they came out to this desert cout try,
and again we laid the foundation of
another temple, a few hundred yards
from this building; and this winter
I we have laid the foundation of another
at St George, in the southern part of
[ this Territory. The masons and
laborers are down there endeavoring
to push it forward to completion as
fast as possible.
Why is it that we are so anxious to
build temples? It is that we may
attend to ordinances necessary for the
salvation of the living and the dead,
that we may be baptized for our an*
cestors who died without having the
privilege of hearing and o*>eyingthe
Gospel We not only believe that
we should be baptized for them, but
we also believe that where our fathers
and mothers have died, having been
married only according to the prac-
tice of the world, they should be
married for time and eternity ; and,
in the temples erected by the Saints
to the name of the Most High, we
shall act for them in this respect
also. We believe, not only, that we
should be married for time and eter-
nity, but that they should be also.
We believe in the eternal nature of
the marriage relation, that man and
woman are destined, as husband and
wife, to dwell together eternally. We
believe that we are organized as we
are, with all these affections, with all
this love for each other, for a definite
purpose, something far more lasting
than to be extinguished when death
shall overtake us. We believe that
when a man and woman are united as
husband and wife, and they love each
other, their hearts and feelings are
one, that that love is as enduring as
eternity itself, and that when death
overtakes them it will neither ex-
tinguish nor cool that lov^ but that
it will brighten and kindle it to a
THE NEW BIRTH, ETC
321
purer flame, a:id that it will endure
through eternity; and that if we
have offspring they will be with ns
and our mutual associations will be
one of the chi\ f iovs of the heaven to
which we are hastening. If I have
loving wives and children, who could
contribute to our happiness so much
as we could to each others', they to
mine, I to theirs? Shall we be sep-
arated and I be no more to them and
they no more to me than strangers ?
How unnatural the thought! God !
has restored the everlasting priest-
hood, by which ties can be formed,
consecrated and consummated, which
shall be as enduring as we ourselves
are enduring that is, as our spiritual
nature; and husbands and wives will
be united toother, and they and
their children will dwell and associate
together eternally, and this, as I have
said, will constitute one of the chief
joys of heaven ; and we look for-
ward to it with delightful anticipa-
tions.
Brother Woodruff, in his remarks
this morning, spukd of the blessing
that the Lord promised Abraham, 1
that as the sands on the sea shore, or
the stars that bespangle the firma-
ment are innumerable, so should his
seed be. How is this to be effected?
Why, by the eternal union of the
by the eternal union of Abra-
ham uirh those who were his family
in his Jtfe, Strange as this doctrine
may seem, it is nevertheless amply
sustained by these divine Scriptures
in which Christendom all profess to
believe.
Now we rear Temples in order
that we may be baptised in the fonts
which will be in those Temples, for
onr dead, in order that we may go
forward and act vicariously for them
in the ordinance of hantism and in
the laying on of hands for the Holy
Ghost, and then in other ordinances,
which shall prepare them to dwell I
21.
with us and us with them eternally
in the presence ot God.
If you read the 20th chapter of
the Revelations, you will see that the
Lord revealed to John that there
shall be a thousand yearsVrest, a mil-
lennium, or millennial era, when the
earth shall rest from wickedness, and
when knowledge shall cover it as
waters cover the deep, ami when one
man shall not have to say to another,
"Know ye the Lord?" but when,
according to the words of the Pro-
phet, " all shall know him, from the
least even unto the greatest ;9 when
God's will shall be written in the
hearts of the children of men, and
th?y will understand his law. The
: Prophets have spoken of sne'i a day,
and in the chapter to which I have
alluded, the 20th of Revelations, the
Lord speaks of it in plainness to his
servant John the Revelator, setting
forth that there shall be a thousand
years' rest on the earth, during which
Christ shall reijni in the midst of his
Saints, and when there shall be no-
thing to hurt or destroy in all the
holy mountain of the Lord ; when
the Iamb will lie down with the lion,
the cow with the bear, and when the
whole animal creation will dwell to-
gether in peace, when swords shall
be beaten into ploughshares, spears
into pruning hooks, and when the
nations shall learn war no more,
! men shall plant and eat the fruit
thereof, build and inhabit, and when
none shall deprive them of the Iruits
of their labors,
I quote these passages as they oc-
cur to my mind. You are all familiar
wirh them. They will be fulfilled,
and there will be a thousand years*
rest, during which period Sat: n will
b-? bound, and when the seed of the
righteous Will increase and cover the
land. In that glorious period every-
thing on the face of the earth will bt
beautiful; disease and crime, and all
Vol XIV.
322 JOURNAL OF
the evils that attend our present
state of existence will be btuished ;
and during that period, as God bus
revealed, the occupation of his people
will be to lay a foundation for the |
redemption of the dead, the unnum-
bered millions who lived aud died on
the earth without hearing and obey-
ing the phm of salvation.
We believe, further, that every
man who dies belonging to this
Church, and having the right to offi-
ciate in the Priesthood, will be en-
gaged, while awaiting the resurrection
of his body, in a work similar to that
in which Jesus was enframed, namely,
preaching the Gospel to those who
are ignorant of it. He will proclaim
the plan of salvation to those in the
spirit world who have died in igno-
rance of the name of Jesus and of
the character of his redemption. Fur,
let me tell you, there is no name un-
der heaven whereby men can he waved,
except the name of Jesus Chtisr, and
if the dead ever are saved, it must be
through the name of JVsus and
through the telemption he has worked
out. Tins is the gospel and the phm
of salvation as we believe it. I
Men s;iy that the Latter-day Saints
are exclusive and uncharitable; but
they know nothing of the doctrines
that we ln*lieve in. Our hearts swell
with exceeding desire for the sal*
ration nl our fellow creatures: we
want all saved. We would, if we
had arms sufficiently long, enclose
them fill, and shed around them the
halo of love. We desire and yearn
for their salvation; we pray for it,
and we expect to spend our days,
both here and hereafter, in acomplish-
ing it. It is the chief labor that
occupies our attention, and we expect
to rear temples in which we can at-
tend to the ordinances necessary to
work it out. There are men already
who spend the chief portion ot their
time in attending to these ordinances,
DISCOURSES,
forgetful of their worldly interests,
devoting themselves almost ex-
clusively to these labors, and we ex-
pect to save all that will accept the
plan of salvation. I say wp, 1 mean
God and the authority that he has
established and restored to the earth.
Can you wonder that we believe in
plural marriage when we have these
views? Now, for instance, there is
a man who has had a wife, and child-
ten by that wife. She has died, and
lie has married again, aud had a
family by the second wife. In some
instances she lias died, find lie has
married a third time. Now we be-
lieve that thut man, it he be a good
man, will Ihj entitled to these wives
in the resurrection. There may be
men of this class here to-day, men
who have lost their first wives, by
whom they have had children, aud
who have made their little home a
heaven, lavishing upon them all the
wealth of their affection; and that
woman having passed away, they have
taken another wife, and she has been
equally true She has done the best
she could. Now in the resurrection
which wife shnll he put away ? Shall
he say to the first wife, 44 i have a
second wj(e, I do not want you to live
with me/1 Or shall he say to the
second wife, "Here is the wife of
Lmy youth ; the one who engaged my
heart's first affections, and I love her
and you must go/* u Oh," s^ys one,
* there will be no wives there, and no
| necessity of a man saying such things
either to first or second wile." You
sre the dilemma in which the belief
of Christendom forces them. They
are compelled by their traditions to
' reject the idea of the marital relation,
and of husband and wife dwelling to-
gether for eternity. What is their
view ? Why, as I have heard it,
and I have gleaned it from the best
of them, the idea they have of the
heaven to which mankind are hasten-
Nt:niiT9 ami-kita, Ac.
32
ing is that of beinfr clothed in white
ruin tent and with harp in nam!, sink-
ing pnige* to God and I he Lamb
eternally. This is very tpMid cm-
ploy men t no doabt, but to thtnk of
our h \u\r so em ployed forever and
ever dues not satisfy the enquiring
mind. I e-iuld not t>e happy, »s I am
now constituted, vou could not, with*
out active employment — a field for
the exercise of every faculty of mind
and body that God has given yon.
I do Dot Wonder at mm dr lin^
dentil whrn Mm v have sneh ideas of
heaven ami future happiness. My
idea of heaven picture* trj me a con-
dition of s >ciety as much superior to
I bin as heaven is to earth. I picture
io myself a st .ate of s hifty that shall
be free fr on every sin, where the ad*
versa ry can have no entrance, where
there wiJI he no ^lonn, sorrow, pain
or death, and where I shall associate
wit li those whom L have loved ; whoae
lives have been spent with me in endea-
voring to do good ; w ith the wife or
wives and children I have bad here, ,
living with them eternally in the
presence of GihJ, And as it waa said
of JeS'ts: 44 To the inoreise of his
seed there fileill he no end,*1 so do I
hojie, after I leave here, the hlessing
serdt-d upon F it her Abraham, of
whose seed I am, that as their shonlil
be no end to his increase, tin re shall
be none to mine.
It is 1 his I labor for and Inok for-
ward to, Heav« ii looks bright to me ;
death is nibbed of its terror — it has
no stinjr, and, like one of uid, 1 ran
My, **0 grave, where is I hey victory :
Oh, ilea tli, where is they sting!"
Tfrere is no tithtg in deaf h, there is no
victory in the grave, tor we u II expect,
*ho belong to the Chinch of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, to he
i vs a i rccted in glory, with e v< k ry
faculty of body and mind enhanced,
purified, enlarged, Until we html I bo
hku our Father and God. This is
i lie heaven \\Ui ■\^ we ;ir ]ook-ii£ f>r,
ami to which 1 pray we may all attain,
in the name ol Jesus, Amen*
DISCOURSE BY ELDEIl ORSON PRATT,
DbLIVRRBO IS TJIR T A R E R.X ACL E , SALT L\RK ClTY, SONDAV A FTEJLNOON,
Febriauy II, 1872,
(Rt'portt'it hi/ David W. Evans,)
(i
N EPF J IT E AMERICA — TfTE HAY OF (;»h's 1*0 WBR — THE SHEPHERD OF
ISRAEL,
It is quite nnex|>ected to me to he
Cfill. d upon this atternoon to address
this congregation; hot inasmuch as
I huve been solicited so to doleheer-
fully comply with the request. It
Las tilao been suggested that there
would be several strnn^rrs present
this afternoon who would desire to
hear some of the evidences in relation
to the Book of Mormon, and although
it is a subject vn which we have
spoken during the week just passed,
and have set forth many evidences
iu support of the divine authenticity
of this book, still it may not be
amiss to repeat some of these evi-
dences and give some reasons to
those who are present why this people
receive this book as a part and por-
tion of the revelations of the Most
High. Our traditions, which we re-
ceived from our fathers, have natu-
rally inclined us to reject all revela-
tions, or all pretended Scripture
except that which happened to be
compiled in the Old ai d New Testa-
ment I had this tradition in com*
mon with the rest of mankind who
profess to believe the Bible; bat
when I came to examine this tradi
tion which I, as well as millions, had
imbibed, I found it to be only ttadi-
tion and without any subs'antial
foundation. I can not possibly im-
agine how to reconcile the supreme
goodness, wisdom and mercy of the
Almighty with the idea that a few of
the inhabitants of our globe, dwelling
in one small region called Palestine,
should be the favored few to whom
revelation should be vouchsafed. I
can not reconcile this idea with the
view that we take of the chsiracterof
the great Being whom we worship
and serve. When I contemplate the
vast number of millions that must
have swarmed over this great western
hemisphere in times of old, building
large cities, towns and villages, and
spreading themselves forth from shore
to shore from the Atlantic to the
Pacific, from the frozen regions of
Ahe north to the uttermost extremity
■of South America — when I contem-
plate all these people as human
beings, beings that have immortal
souls and form part of the brother-
hood of all nations, descending from
the same parents, created by the same
Creator, I can not believe that all
these nations have been left in dark-
ness, deprived of the light of revela-
tion from Heaven, and having no
knowledge concerning God ; but I
must believe that God, who is an im-
partial Being and presiding over all
the inhabitants of the earth, would
have respect to the people of ancient
America as well as of ancient Asia.
Consequently, in accordance with the
views that we would naturally enter-
tain concerning the attributes of the
Great Jehovah, we believe that he
has in these latter times, hi the gene-
ration in which we are permitted to
live, condescended to bring to the
knowledge of the people another
book, another divine revelation con-
taining the history of his dealings
with the generations that ate past
and gone on this western hemisphere.
The book which I hold in my hand
(the Book of Mormon) contains
nearlv as much information us the
if
Old Testament It is a book, of five
or six hundred closely printed pages*
This book, the Latter-day Saints be-
lieve to be the Bible of the western
hemisphere; a compilation of sacred
book*, books delivered by divine in-
spiration in ancient times to prophets,
revehitors and inspired men who
dwelt upon this continent, both in
North and South America, We be-
lieve that it was written, mostly by a
branch of the house of Israel, a part
and portion of the chosen seed, the
descendants of Abraham who were
led forth to this continent some six
hundred years before Christ fioni the
city of Jerusalem, brought by the
special providence, miracles and good-
ness of the Almighty, A colon j
with whom there were several pro-
phets; a colony of Israelites who
believed in the law of Jtfoses, and to
whom the Lord manifested himself
in a peculiar manner. They were
brought forth from the land of Jeru-
salem in the first year of Zedekiah,
Kin# of Judah, fcix hundred years
before the birth of our Lord and
NEPHITE AMERICA, ETC
325
Savior, By revelation from the Lord
they traveled south-west from the
citv of Jerusalem, and after reaching
the Red Sea they continued along its
eastern borders and afterwards hunt
their course eastward, arriving at the
Indian Ocean. There they were
commanded by the Almighty to build
a vessel, the patten] of which was
given to them by revelation, building
it as Noah built the Ark — under the
direction of the Almighty. On
bo ird this vessel t he v embarked, and
were guided by the Almighty across
the great Indian Ocean. Passing
among the islands, how far south of
Japan I do not know, they came
round our globe, crossing not only
the Indian Ocean, but what we term
the great Pacific Ocean, landing on
the western const of what is :iow
called South America* As near as
we can judge from the description of
the cumtrv contained in tins record
the tirst landing place was in Chili,
not far from where the city of Val-
paraiso now stands.
After landing on the western const
of South America, they divided into
two colonies, one colony called La-
manites, the other called Nephites,
These names originated from two
brothers, the name of one being
Laman, the name of the other Nephi.
The Lamanites became a veiy wicked
and corrupt people* The Nephites
believed in the law of Moses, in God,
in the spirit of revelation and pro-
phecy; they believed in visions, in
the mil dat-ration of angels, and they
sought to serve the- Lord with nil
their hearts, and they were exceed-
ingly per>e<:uied by the Lamanites.
The Nephites, by the command of
the Almigbtyf made sacred records
on g Id plates, and on these plates
they weie commanded to engrave
their history, their prophecies, the
de;fc:ings of the L ud with them from
generation to generation.
j Being so severely persecuted by
the Lainauites, the Nephites were
commanded of the Lord to depart
from their midst, that is to leave the
first place of colonization in the coun-
try which the Spanish now call Chili,
They came northward from their tirst
lain ling place travel i Jig, according to
the record, as near as I can judge,
some two thousand miles. The La-
manites remained in possession of the
country on the South, The Nephites
formed a colony not far from the
head waters of the river Amazon, and
they dwelt there some four centuries,
increasing and spreading forth in the
land. The Lamanites, in the South
and in the middle portions of South
America, also spread forth and mul-
tiplied, and bee *me a very strong ami
powerful nation. Many wars ex.
isted between the two nations, in
which hundreds of thousands were
destroyed. Finally, in the course of
geneiations, the Nephites fell into
wickedness; they departed in i great
measure from t he law of Moses and
from the precepts of truth which
had been taught to them by the pro-
phets in their midst, A certain
portion of them who still believed
were commanded of the Lord to leave
their brethren in conse quence of their
wickedness; they did so, and thoso
who still remained faithful, under the
guidance of prophets and revelatory
came si ill further north ward, emi-
grating from the head waters of what
we now term the river Amazon, upon
the western coast, or not far from the
western coast, until they came on the
waters of the river which we call the
1 Magdalena. On this river, not a
great distance from the mouth there-
of, in what is now termed the United
States of Columbia, they built their
great capital city. Tney also dis-
covered another nation that already
possessed that country called the peo-
ple of Z a rah em la. They also were a
326
JOURNAL OF
DISCOURSES.
r
branch of Israel who came out from i
the city of Jerusalem five hundred
and eighty- nine years before the
coming of Christ, in the eleventh
year of the reign of Zedt kiah, at the i
time he was taken captive, and the
Jews were carried into Babylon, One
of the sons of Zedtkiah, King of
Judah, being- commanded of the Lord,
left the city of Jerusalem with a
Colony, who were brought forth and
landed north of the Isthmus and
journeyed southward, passed through
the narrow neck of land which we
term the Isthmus into the United
States of Columbia, and forued their
settlements there, and when discnv-
ered by the Nephites had dwelt there
near Four hundred years.
The Nephites and the people of
Zarahernla united together and formed
a great and powerful nation, occupy-
ing the lands south of the Isthmus
for many hundreds ot miles, and also
from the Pacific on the west to the
Atlantic on the east, spreading all
through the country. The L iman-
ites about this time also occupied
South America, the middle or south-
ern portion of it, and were exceed-
ingly numerous, I will here observe,
that from the time the Nephitts con-
solidated themselves with the people
of Zarahemla, they had numerous
wars with the great nation of tire
Lamanites, in winch many hundreds
of thousands perished on both sides, i
About fifty-four years before
Christ, five thousand four hundred
men, with their wives and children,
left the northern portion of South
America, passed through the Isthmus,
came into this north countrv, the
north wing of the continent, and be-
gan to settle up North America, and
from that time a great emigration uf
the Nephites and the people of Zara-
hemla took place year by year. 1
will here mention one thing which
perhaps may be startling to indivi-
[ duals who are unacquainted with the
antiquities of this country, that the
Nephite nation ah ut this time com-
menced (heart of shipbuilding. They
built many ships, launching them
forth into the western ocean. The
place of the building of these ships
was near the Isthmus of Darien.
Scores of thousands entered these
ships year after year, and passed
along on the western coast north-
ward, and began to settle the western
coast on the north wing uf" the conti-
nent. I will observe another thing —
when they came into North America
they found all this country covered
with the ruins of cities, villages and
towns, the inhabitants having been
cut off and destroyed. The timber
had also been cut off, insomuch that
in many places there was no timber
by which they could construct their
dwellings, hence the Nephites and
the people of Zarahemla had to build
their houses of cement, others had to
dwell in tents. Vast quantities of
timber were shipped from the south
to the people on the western coast,
enabling them to build many towns,
cities and villages. The latter also
planted groves of timber, and in pro-
cess of time they raised great quanti-
ties, which furnished them with snffi-
'» cientfor building and other purposes*
Forty-five years before the coining of
Christ there was a vast colony came
out of South America, and it is said
in the Book of Mormon that they
went an exceeding great distance,
until they came to large bodies of
water and to many rivers and foun-
tains, and when we come to read
more fully the description of the
country it answers to the great Mis-
sissippi Valiey. There they formed
a colony, \\ e know that to be the
region of country from the fact that
these plates were taken from a hill
in the interior of the State of New
York, being the descendants of those
NEPiUTE AMERICA, ETC.:
327
same colonists that settled in the val-
ley of the Mississippi. When we
speak of t he valley of the Mississippi,
let me say a few words to inform the
minds of my brethren and sisters
from foreign countries who may not
be so fully acquainted wirh the geo-
graph y of our land. The valley of
the Mississippi does not mean a sniall
valley like these valleys here in the
Rocky Mountains, but it means a
vast area of territory some fifteen
hundred thousand square miles in ex
tent, enough to accommodate several
hundred millions of inhabitants, al-
most a world of itself. There the
Nephites became a great and power-
ful people. In process of time they
spread forth on the light and on the
left, and the whole face of the North
American continent was covered by ci-
ties, towns and villages and population.
Hit we will hasten on, They
having kept the law of Moses, I
mean the X ophites, looked forward,
according to the testimony of their
law, for the coming of the Messiah,
that is f lie great Prophet of Israel
which Moses had told them the
Lord would raise up unto them.
They looked for that great Prophet
to come and shed his blood, for their
sacrifices and burnt offerings pointed
to a great and last sacrifice, the sacri-
fice of the Son of God. The Xephite
nation, therefore, had a testimony
given to them concerning that future
Messiah that was to come; a sign
Was given to them on this American
continent that they might know the
Tery day on which he was born.
The night before Jesus was born this
continent had no darkness. There
was one day, and then a night and
then a day without any darkness at
all — it was as light as day during
the period which is generally called
night This was prophesied or pre-
dicted by their Prophets as a sign
that they might no longer be in sus-
pense at o it the coming of their great
Prophet, After the birth of Christ
there were s gns given to the people
concerning his crucifixion. The in-
habitants of this land were not in
ignorance about the great atonement
that was wrought out on Mount Cal-
vary, It was not, in vain that they
kept the law of Moses, and offered np
their burnt offerings an 1 the shed-
ding of the blood of beasts and fowls,
poinriug forward to the atoning blood
of Jesus, they knew when the great
and last sacrifice was offered here on
this laud. However, it was a day of
sorrow to them, for most of the peo-
ple at that time had become very
wicked. They had stoned and killed
the Prophets and persecuted them
exceedingly, and had become so cor-
rupfc and had devi tted so far from
the law of Moses and from the pro-
phecies that God had given to them,
and the righteous precepts that had
been taught them by their Prophets,
that the Lord in Ins anger destroyed
many hundreds of thousands of the
people at the time of the crucifixion
of Jesus. The Prophets told the peo-
ple that when Jesus should be hung
on the cross there should be a terrible
convulsion and great earthquake on
this continent, that many of their
towns, cities and villages should be
totally destroyed, some of their cities
should he sunk and buried in the
depths of the earth, that mountains
.should rise up and come over and fall
on certain eities, that other cities
should be sunk and waters come up
in the place thereof, that other cities
should be destroyed by tempest and
whirlwind, that others should be
burned by fire. Another great sign
was given to them concerning the
period during which Jesus was to re-
main in the tomb — th-it from the
[>eriod of the crucifixion until the
time of the resurrection thick dark-
ness should spread over all the face
328
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES
of this continent, darkness like that
of Esjypt, that could be felt by the
people* No sun, nor moon, nor stars
were permitted to shine on that occa-
sion, not a glimmer of light, three
days and three nights of darkness.
All this took place at the cruci-
fixion of Christ. The judgments
carne as predicted by the prophets.
The rocks upon nearly all the face of
this continent, prior to that event,
were not found disrupted as at the
present day. Those who have travel-
led through these mountainous re-
gions and looked at. the various strata
of rocks find many of them turned
up edgeways. This must have been
caused by some terrible convulsion.
You will see it on every hand in
these mountains. It is not some-
thing peculiar to our vicinity, but the
same thing occurs throughout all
the vast region called the Rocky
Mountains. From the frozen regions
of the north until you penetrate
through the Isthmus into the Andes,
and then on to the end of this conti-
nent in the south, we find the^e dis-
ruptions, seama and cracks among the
various strata of rock, Before the
coming* if Christ this was not so. Many
mountains existed after the cruci-
fixion where there were deep valleys
before, and the whole face of the land
was changed. No wonder then that
our miners here in the^e rocky re-
gions, and in various portions of
Montana, California, and Nevada, j
occasionally, after digging several
hundred feet, find remains of human
arts They find these things, and
tuey have published descriptions of
thein in the papers in California and
elsewhere, and in consequence of these
discoveries they begin to calculate
tli at the earth must be so many
hundred thousand years old, and some
of them conclude that it must be
millions, in order to account for the
phenomena which have been observed.
But geologists should leave these
things out of the qnesiion and should
begin to inquire what has produced
these terrible convulsions of nature,
what lias thrown up these vast ridges
of mountains, what has sunk down
valleys? What is it that has dis-
rupted and apparently thrown the
western continent into Rich terrible
convulsion as to place the rocks on
edge and rend them asunder? -If
they would inquire into these things
it would be no marrel to them to find
the remains of the ancient arts of
men sunk iar beneath the surface of
thee<it th. I would sav to ihem that,
perad venture, they may yet Hud, when
the Lord shall again convulse this
continent, as he assuredly will do,
throwing down the mountains and
raising up the valleys, at the time of
his second coming, for then, says the
prophet Isaiah, the mountains shall
flow down at his presence, Ttien,
says the prophet David, the hills and
the mountains shall melt like wax be-
fore the presence of the Lord, I say
when this great and terrible con-
vulsion shall come we may find cities
using, as it were, from the bowels of
the earth, disgorged and brought to
the surface. It need not surprise the
inhabitants who then live to see cities
brought up from the depths of the
lakes and from the depths of great
waters; to see mountains removed
from their places and uncovering
ancient cities that have been covered
up for generations. All it needs then
is a convulsion, a terrible catastrophe
of nature to produce the elects that
are sometimes ascribed to long ages
ot the slow working of the elements.
But to go back to the history.
At the time of the crucifixion the
Nephitesdwclt in North America and
also occupied a portion of South
America; and after that event, the
more righteous portion of those among
them who were spared and also those
NKPUITK AMERICA, ETC.
32 a
among the Lamanites who bad not
altogether forsaken the troth, began
to remember the prophecies, recorded
upon their plates of gold, that after
the (Tueilixiuii, and sifter all these
terrible judgments had come upon
them, their Messiah, of whom Moses
had spoken, should render himself
visible to the inhabitants of this con-
tinent. They tell us that they as-
sembled themselves around a certain
temple that the Lord had preserved
in the northern part of South America,
and were wondering about the great
convulsions of nature that had taken
place,
While they were thus conversing,
pointing nut and explaining to each
other what had taken place, both in
the north arid in the south as far as
they ha I explored, while ihey were
thus conversing in all humility about
Jesus, who had been crucified in the
land of their fathers, they heard a
voice corning out ot the heavens. At
first they could not comprehend it ;
but it excited their attention — the
attention of about tvv enty-tive hundred
men, women and children, and they
all gazed steadfastly towards the
heavens, and while they were thus
engaged the voice spoke again the
second time and the third time, say-
ing unto them, 11 Behold my beloved
Son, in whum I am wtdl pleased,11 and
they saw Jesus descent ! ing out of the
heavens clothed in a white robe, and
he came and stood in the midst of
that large assembly of people and he
said unto them, u Behold, 1 am Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, the Father of |
the heavens and the earth, the God of
the whole earth," After he had thus
spoken to them he told thetn how he
had come in the land of their fathers,
and how he had been crucified by the
Jewish nation. He then called the
multitude to come and see the wounds
in his hands, in his feet and in his side,
and they feu w these wounds, and heatd 1
the voice of their Redeemer, and they
knew of a surety that was the Son
of God, of whom their prophets had so
long prophesied. Jesus commanded
them no, longer to kill sacrifices and
shed the blood of beasts and fowls,
for he himself had been offered as a
last final sacrifice according to the
type* that were given in the law of
Mo*es, and that he h id shed his blood
for the remission of sin a ; and then he
introduced among them the gospel in
all its fulness and plainness. Often-
times has my heart been filled with
joy inexpressible when I have read
the words of Jesus on that occasion,
declaring to them his gospel, and un-
folding to them that they must have
faith in him as the only Redeemer, as
the only being who could atone for
the sins of mankind ; that they must
repent of their sins and become as
little children, and be baptized by
immersion tor the remission of their
sins; that if they would do this they
should be baptized with lire and with
the Holy Ghost, and when they should
receive the Holy Ghost it should im-
part unto them special gifts in order
that they, through the exercise of
these gilis, might be perfected and
prepared to return into the presence
of their Father and their God.
Jesus chose twelve disciples on the
American continent. They are not
called apostles in the Book of Mor-
mon, but disciples. I have no doubt,
however, in my own mind, that they
held the office of the apostleship, for
they exercised all 1 1 e tunci ions of
apostles. They had power not only
to baptize with water, but to lay on
hands tor the baptism of the Holy
Ghost, which latter was one of the
functions granted, in ancient days,
unto the office of an apostle. Thtse
twelve Nephites who were called by
the personal ministry of Jesus, were
commanded to go torth and preach
the Gospel on all the face of the
330 JOURNAL OF
North find South American conti-
nent. They were to build up his
Church ; they were to teach the peo-
ple that they should no more worship
God by the ordinances of the law of
Hoses, but according to the words
which that prophet had delivered to
them, even Jesus who appeared in
their midst. I
After Jesus had administered unto
them the first day he withdrew and
ascended into heaven, saying unto the
people, "Behold I will visit you
again on the morrow." The people
who were present on that occasioti
spread the news of the Savior's visit
as far as they possibly could during
the remainder of the day and through
the night, and people gathered from
all quarters as fat as they possibly
could, so as to be at the place where
Jesus should appear to them On
the next day he came again, and the
next day the disci pies separated
the vast mult itudes that came together
into twelve bodies, and they taught
them, for thev could not be assem-
bird in one body and all be able to
hear the sound of one man's voice.
For this reason they were separated
into twelve bodies and the Twelve
taught them. They taught them the
words of Jesus about being baptized
by immersion for the remission of
sins, and about the gift or reception
of fire and the Holv Ghost After
they had taught the people the Twelve
went forth, being commissioned of
the Almighty, into the water and
baptized great numbers. After this
Jesus came again and ministered to
them and blessed them, and taught
them still further concerning his
doctrines, and also prophecied many
things that should take place during
that generation, and for many genera-
tions to come. Many times after this
Jesus showed himself to the Nephite
nation. These twelve disciples went
forth, according to the commandment ;
DISCOURSES.
I of the Lord and ordained others, and
these ministers thus ordained went
forth on all the face of the continent,
and so great were the witnesses, so
powerful the manifestations of heal-
ing the sick, opening the eves of
the blind aud the power that was dis-
played among the American Israelites
that the greater portion o! both Ne*
phites and Lamauites were con vei ted,
indeed — in process of time they were
all converted — and they dwelt in
righteousness nearly three centuries.
; We have but a vry short history,
however, in the Book of Mormon of
I the righteousness of the Ne phites
and Lam unites during tho^e three
centuries. We are merely informed
that they had all their property in
common, that there were no 1 ieh nor
poor among them, during all that
period of time, that they were a
humble people and worshiped the
Lord their God in the name of Jesus,
and they were a people who sought
diligently to comply with every com-
mandment and revelation from
heaven* After about three gener-
ations had passed away they began to
apostatize, not to dwindle in unbelief,
but to reject, wilfully, the principles
that had been revealed to them,
which were very great indeed ; for
din ing that period of time, according
to the little information that we have,
the Lord gave them many precious
revelations, which were recorded on
their plates which were not permitted
to come forth in thin record, being
too great tor us or for any penple to
receive who dwell net in righteous-
ness. But the people began to apos-
tatize and turn away from such great
light, and their condemnation, of
course, was greater than that which
would have come upon them if they
had been in darkness and ignorance.
Sinning against so great light they
speedily ripened themselves for de-
struction. They began to separate
NEFHITE AMERICA, ETC.
331
again into Lamanites anil Nephites,
and thny made t.vo great, grand
divisions.
About three hundred and seven ty-
five years after the birth of Christ, the
Nephites occupying Ninth Amend,
the Lamanites South America, and
wars bavins? existed between them
for nearly fifty years, the Lamanites
began to overpower the Nephites,
and they drove them northward from
the narrow neck of hind which we
call the Isthmus of D irien, horning,
destroy in<; and desolating every city,
town and vUliage through which they
passed, The Nephites eon tinned to
flee before their conquerors until they
enme into the interior of the State of
New Sort. There, the king or com.
mander of the Nephites wrote an
epistle to the Lamanites and requested
art" armistice tor four years, for the
purpose of gathering in all the Ne*
phite nation into that one pi are. The
Icintr of the Lamanites granted this
armistice, and during these four years
they had no battles, but were occu-
pied very diligently id 'gathering the
whole Nephite nation into that one
region, and the Lamanites gal her i rig
the whole Lammvite nation into the
same region of country. Many mil-
lions on both sides were here gat hered
together, and when the four years had
expired, hostilities were renewed,
many battles were fuught and the
Nephites if ere overpowered, men,
women and children being hewn
down. The great and last battle, in
which several hundred thousand Ne-
phites perished was on the hill Cum-
orah, the same hill from which the
plates were fatten by Joseph Smith,
trie boy about whom I spoke to you
the other evening, A few Nephites
dissented over to the Lamanites and
joined them, and a few escaped into j
the south country. Mormon, one of
the prophets of the Nephites, who
had the rt cords in his possession, le-
ing commanded of the Lord, hid up
the records in the hill Cumorah he-
fore the battles commenced. I mean
all the records except an abridgment.
The £old plates from which the 13 mk
of Mormon was taken are only an
abridgment from vast numbers of
other plates which were hidden up
by Mormon in that hill. This
abridgment, reserved and not hid up
by Mormon, he pave to his sun
Moroni. He and Moroni both sur-
veyed the destruction of their nation;
they fell, wounded among the vast
numbers on that hill, but their
wounds were not fatal mid they sur-
vived and for a short time kept them-
selves hid. Mormon, however, was
:ifter wards discovered and destroyed
by the Lamanites, Moroni continued
from three hundrel and eighty-four
years, the date of the destruction of
his nation, until four hunlred and
twenty years after Christ, that is the
last date eriven in this record. Mor-
oni tells us, as a prophet of God, that
he was commanded of the Lord to
hi le up these records in the hill Cam-
orah, not in the same place where the
other records hail been hidden by his
father Mormon, but in another place,
for the Lord had promised the pro-
phet Moroni that he would bring
these records to light in the latter
days, when he should bring forth a
great and powerful nation upon this
land. The Lord showed all these
things to these ancient prophets, and
they u nd erst ood our history and wrote
about it before ever Columbus dis-
covered America, Moroni informs
us that after the Lord should estab-
lish in the la tier days a great and
powerful nation of the Gentiles on the
face of this land, and should deliver
them by his power out of the hands
of all other nations, then the Lord
would bring forth this abridgment,
these plates which Moroni was com-
manded to hide up; that the records
332 JOURNAL UK
should be revealed, tint the individual
who should discover them should, by
the aid of theUrim and Thuminiin, be
able to trnn slate the records from the
language in which they were written
info our language, that these records
should be brought forth expressly to
accomplish the great purposes of the
Lord in the hist days in regard to
warning all (he nations of the Gen-
tiles first, and that they might have
the Gospel preached unto them in its
ancient purity, as it was preached on
this great western hemisphere, in or-
der that the fulness of the Gentiles
might he brought in, then their
turns should he fulfilled. Alter the
times of the Gentiles should be ful-
filled by the coming forth of these
records, the prophet informs us that
the records should be sent to all the
scattered remnants of the house ot
Israel in the four quarters of the
earth, and that then the Lord would
Set his hand in power to deliver his
people Israel from all the nations and
kingdoms under the whole heaven,
and that he would bring them back
to the land of their fathers.
But before Israel can be gathered,
these records, according to the pie-
dictions contained in them, must be
sounded abroad, not only to the great
and powetfid nation, the Republic of
the United States, and the Can ad as,
but to all the nations of the Gentiles,
that all may be left without excuse.
Already the time has far gone by for
this warning to the Gentiles. Forty-
two years out of the generation lias
already pistfted, and the same gener-
ation to whom these records were re-
vealed shall not pa**s away until the
times of the Gentiles shall be ful-
filled. When that period shall arrive,
as I sod in my lecture during the
week, there will come a day of the
Lord's especial power, the day of
power spoken of by the psalmist
David where he addresses the Lord,
DISCOURSES.
saying: "Thy people shall he willing
in the day of thy power/* Israel
have never been willing to receive
Jesus from the day that they were
cut off* as bitter branches that brought
forth no good fruit, until the present
period. Generation after generation
has passed away, and they still re*
main in unbelief, and they still remain
in their scattered condition among all
the nations and countries of the earth.
Hut when the day of the Lord's
power shall come, when he shall send
forth his ser vants with the power of
the priesthood and upostleship to the
nations and to the scattered remnants
of the house of Israel that dwell in
the islands of the sea alar off, he will
show forth his power in Hint day in
such a conspicuous manner that all
Israel, as it were, will be saved. As
it is written by the Apostle Paul,
u Blindness in part hath happened to
Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles
be come in, and so all Israel shall be
saved " All Israel in that day will
hear the voice of the L >rd and the
voicj of his servants; all Israel, in
that day, wilt see the arm of the
Lord made bait* in signs and mighty
wonders in effecting the restoration
of his chosen people to their x>wq
land. Ti ten will be fulfilled that
which is spoken of in the ^Oth chafe*
tcrof Ezckiel concerning their restor-
ation : 44 For with a mighty hand,
saith the Lord, and with fury poured
out will I rule over you, and I will
gather you out, of the nations and
from the countries wherein )ou were
driven with a mighty hand, with an
outstretched arm and with IVy pour-
ed out, and I will bring. you inio the
wilderness of the people, arid there
will I plead with you facetufac^ like as
I plead with yont- fathers in the wilder-
ness of the land of Egypt, so will I
plead with you saith the Lord God/*
That has never been luililled, but it
will be fulfilled when scattered Israel
NEPHITE AMERICA, ETC
333
return to their own land, A similar '
scenery is to In* enacted to that which
was enacted when Israel were brought
forth out of the land of Egypt, while
they were in the wilderness. Go
back to that period and behold the
Lord descending upon Meant Sinai,
speaking with the voice of a trump in
the ears of twentv-five hundred thou-
sand people, the t banders rolling, the
lightnings flashing and the voice of
Jehovah heard by a whole nation.
You marvel at this, it was great and
wonderful ; but another day is to
come when those sceneries enacted in
the wilderness of the land of Ejypt
will be almost entirely forgotten,
swallowed up in the greater manifes-
tations of his power, not alone on
Mount Sinai, but among all the na-
tions of the eart h. Wherever Israel
is scattered there will the servants of
God be, and his power working won-
ders, signs and miracles for the
gathering of that people and restoring
them to their own Lit id. And when
they are gathered together in a vast
body the Lord intends to take that ,
multitude into the wilderness before
he permits them to go into the land
of their fathers, and when he gets
them into that wilderness, he says, "I I
will plead with you face to face, like
as I plead with your fathers in the
wilderness of the land of Egypt/*
Yet we are told by the present gener-
ation there is to be no more revelation,
no more miracles, no more manifes-
tations of the power of the Almighty,
no more the voice of God speaking
from the heavens, no more of the
manifestations of hi* glory, or the
showing of himself personally to his
people. How wonderfully this gener-
ation of Christendom will be mistaken
in (hat day when Israel will go again |
to their own land, and when the
Lord God shall stretch forth his
hand to the nations of the Gentiles,
Baying, " Your times are fulfilled, my
servants have been sent forth in your
midst, they have declared the word of
the Lord to you all the day long, but
you wok Id not hear or receive their
testimony, now the summer is ended
and vour times are fulfilled. Now
will I gather my people Israel from
the four quarters of the earth,*
Here let me say again, according
, to the Book of Mormon* many of
those great islands that are found in
the Indian Ocean, also in the great
Pacific Sea, have been planted with
colonies of Israelites. Do they not
resemble each other ? Go to the
Sandwich Islands, to the South Sea
Islands, to Japan — go to the various
islands of the Pacific Ocean, and you
| find a general resemblance in the
characters and countenances of the
people. Who are they ? According
to the Book of Mormon, I&raelites
were scattered forth from time to
time, and colonies planted on these
islands of the ocean. In that day
j| the isles will sing with joy; in that
day the isles of the sea will wait for
the Lord's law ; in that da}" the isles
of the sea will rejoice, for they will
give up their inhabitants, and they
will be wafted in ships to their pro-
mised land, and God will show forth
his power and gather millions of peo-
ple from these numerous isles of the
ocean, and he will bring them back to
the land of their fathers. These poor
degraded Lamanites, or American
Indians, that are now so far sunk
beneath humanity, are to be lifted
up by the power of the Almighty
when the day shall come for Israel to
be restored, fur Cod will not forget
them. They are descendants of the.
tribe of Joseph, and consequently
; they are numbered with the people
■ of the covenant. God will remember
the covenant which he made with
i our ancient fathers. These La man*
ites, these American Indians, will
come to the knowledge of the cove-
334 JOURNAL OF
nant, and they will arise and will
bail 1 upon the face of this land a
magnificent city culled Jerusalem,
after the pattern and in the same
manner that the Jews? will build old
Jerusalem, That is what the Latnan-
iles will do, and we will go and help
them too, for it is predicts! in the
Bk»1c of Mormon that when this,
w irk should come forth, when the
time fully arrives for the redemption
of this sma 11 remnant of the house of
Jh<m pS, " As many of the Gentiles as !
w 11 believe, they shall ass st my peo-
ple* who are a remnant of the house
of Israel, that they may build up on
the free of this land a city that >hall
be called the New Jerusalem, ami
then, behold, the powers of heaven
sh ill come down and be in the midst
of this people, and I also will be in
your midst/*
That is what the Lord intends to
fulfil on this land. Jesus is coming
here as well as to many other places
Wkien the New Jerusalem is built on
this land, Jesus will visit that city,
his glory will be upon its dwelling
places. Isaiah the Prophet has de* j
felare \ that upon every dwelling place
of M.unt Zion there shall be a cloud
and smoke ny day, and a shining,
flaming tire by night This will not
only be on the New Jerusalem, but
on the Hnlv City that is built up on
the land of Palestine; and when the |
people have repented and become
sufficiently righteous, and made pre-
paration for the coming of the Lor I
Jesus, lie will come, an 1 they will
behold the Shepherd that is promised
to them* l
Did you not know that the house
of Joseph had a Shepherd promised
them ? He was promised by the old
Putriareh Jacob, as you will find in
the blessing whh:h he pronounced on
bis twelve sons. He called them up
one by one, l>eginniug with the first-
born, and blessed each one in his
DISCOURSES,
turn, until he came to Joseph, upon
whom he pronounced a special bles-
sing. "Joseph," said Jacob, "is a
fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a
well, whose branches run over the
wall The archers have sorely grieved
him, shot at him, hated him, hut his
bow abode in strength, and the arms
of his hands were made strong by
the hands of the mighty God of
J icob. From thence is the Shep-
herd or Stone of Israel/*
Notice now, Jesus was not born of
the tribe of Joseph, he was a de>c ni-
aat of Judith according to the flesh,
but still the promise of a Shepherd
or stone of Israel is from the house
of Joseph. The same Jesus that was
bor n of the tribe of Judah is to come,
in the latter diys, in the capacity of
a Shepherd for the restoration of the
remnants of the tribe of Joseph*
T lis agrees with what is contained
in one of the Ps dmsof D ivi 1 : "Give
eir, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that
leadest Joseph like a fl >ck. Stir up
by strength an I come and save us."
Ye* lie *Ti!l come and save them, and
he will come in the character of a
Sheph -rd too. " I aUo will be in
your midst." The p »w« r> of heaven
sh ill come flown then, and be in the
midst of this people. This agrees
with what 1 have already quoted,
only I did n ;t quote it in full:
"lifindness in part hath happened to
Israel, until the times of the fulness
>>f the tier it ilea be come in, and so all
Israel shall be sived. As it is wiit-
h-n, Behold the Deliverer shall come
i Hit of Zion, and tutti away ungodli-
ness fro in Jacob/* .
Did Jesus, when he came of the
tribe of Judah, turn ungodliness away
from Jacob ? He tried to do so, but
they would not hear him, and instead
of turning them away from their un-
godliness they put him to death, and
brought upon themselves and their
children for many generations the
NEFIIITE AMERICA, ETC.
335
curse nf the Almighty. Not so when
this propht-cy of Paul is fulfil lerl,
when in t he latter days, after the
fulness of the Gentiles is come in, the
Redeemer conies in the chaiacter of
a Shepherd, he will tarn away tin-
godliness Irom Jacob, fur so great
will he his power and so wonderful
his administration in I hut day, thit
Jacob will rejoice and Israel will be
glad, and the Lord will bring forth
deliverance, as he says in the Psalms
of David, our of the midst of Zion,
"Oh," says D*vid, "that the salva-
tion of Israel was come out of Zion,
when he hriugeth hack the captivity
of his people! When he shall do
this, Israel shall be ulad and Jacob
shall rejoice/* He will ;cc>mphsh
this work in his own way, in his own
time, ami according to his own pur-
poses, fulfiling every jot and tittle
of that winch has been spoken by
the mou'hi of his ancient Prophets.
I thought when 1 rose to my feet
I would bring forth some of the evi-
dences of tli** divine authenticity ot
the B >ok of Mormon, but I have been
led otherwise, and I find I have not
time to do so this aft* moon, I have
given you a statement, however, of
the arrival on this great continent of
a colony of Israelites, and have given
you a very brief outline of their his-
tory fro j i six hnu lrel years before
Christ to four hundred ;uid twenty
years after him. I have told you
that they worshiped according to the
law of M >ses until they were taught
and received the Gospel. 1 have told
you concerning three generations of
righteousness, concerning the des-
truction of the Nephite nation in the
interior ut the. Slate of New York. I
have told yon a few of the purposes
that God designs to fulfil and accorn*
plish by bringing forth this record.
I have told you that it must, go forth
to the Gentiles, and fulfil their times
and bring in their fulness. I have
told you that the servants of God
won Id then be sent forth to the
islands of the sea, and bring Israel
from the four quarters of the earth.
I have told you that that would be a
day of the Lord's special power, in
which he would plead with Israel
as he plead with 1 heir fa' hers in the
wilderness of the land of E^ypfc. All
these great events must come to pass,
avoiding to the predictions of the
prophets, in order to prepare the way
for the glorious advent of the Son of
God from the heavens.
If time wouul permit, we would be
glad to enter into the evidences of
the divine authenticity of the Book
of Mormon ; but, no doubt opportu-
nities to d ?ell upon this subject, will
present themselves hereafter. In the
meantime, may the blessing of the
Almighty God rest upon all the
Latter-diy Saints throughout these
mountain vales, and throughout the
whole earth ! And shall we confine
our blessing to the Latter-dty S tints?
No. May the blessing of Almighty
God rest upon the honest -hearted
among all nations, kindreds, tongues
nnd people upon the two great conti-
nents of our gIol*e, and the four quar-
ters of our earth, that they may come
to the knowledge of the troth and bo
prepared for the great and wonderful
events that are to take place in the
last dayw, preparatory to the coming
of the Son of Man, Amen.
■
336
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
DISCOURSE BY ELDER JOHN TAYLOR,
Delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City,
Sun day Aftkhnoi'N, Mauch 3, 1872,
(Reported hj David W. Evans.)
TRUTH — FREEDOM — THE GOSFEL versus MODERN CHRISTIANITY.
We meet together from time to
time to speak, to hear, and to reflect
upon things pertaining to the king-*
dotn of God, and the interests mid
bapptness of humanity; to strengthen,
cheer and instruct, to teach and be
taught on things that pertain to our
happiness and well-being, in time and
in eternity- Asa people we differ in
very many respects from the world
with which we are associated. Oar
ideas, reflections and belief with re-
gard to Deity are different to those of
the world; our ordinances also vary
from those which are in existence
among the Christian world. We
have our reasons for this difference;
they, perhaps, have theirs. We place
God, his service and his worship as
among the first tilings that ought to
attract our attention. Considering
onrsrlves immortal as well as mortal
beings, and having to do with time
and eternity j with things future, as
well as present, it has been our study
for years to try to form correct
opinions and ideas in relation to
those things which pertain to our
everlasting welfare. In doing this
we have not been desirous, generally,
to court the good feelings or approba-
tion of men. We know that man-
kind vary verv much in their ideas
in relation to these matters, and if
desirous we could not follow them
because they do not agree ; but we
have been desirous, as far as lay in
our power, to seek the approbation of
the Almighty and of an approving
conscience, for in religious matters it
is with these we have to do. We
consider that we are engaged in a work
that will affect us and our posterity
after us for innumerable generations;
in a work in which both the living
r.nd the dead are interested. And
acting in the iear of God, and with a
reference to eternal realities, we try
to square our conduct and regulate
our actions, in such a manner, that
we may stand approved of all good
men, and of the holy angels; that we
may be approved of the virtuous and
good who have lived on the earth,
and of the virtuous and good
who may hereafter live upon it ;
for we consider, as we are eternal be- *
ings, tli at things pertaining to eter-
nity are of a great deal more impor-
tance than the evanescent transitory
things pertaining to time and sense,
which speedily pass away. We fiud
one thing literally true, as spoken of
by the scriptures, — that "It is ap-
pointed fur men once to die," and that
the teeming millions who now in-
habit this earth have only existed
upon it for a very short time, and
will only tfoutiaue to fexist for a short
time to cuiii«j- and as we have
•
TRUTH, ETC
337
supplanted the millions who have
gone before us, so also shall we be
supplanted by millions who will fol-
low after us ; and as we believe in an
eternitv and in future rewards and
future punishments, and in future ex-
altations and future degradations; as
we believe that this life is simply a
pro batoi nary state we feel desirous to
act as wise, prudent, intelligent be-
ings, squaring our lives and actions
according to the high position that
we occupy before God and before the
holv angels. We are not satisfied, as
many men are, with simple theories,
because this, that or the other man or
bodies of men have told as they are
true, we are governed by no man's
ipse dixit We have not any parti-
cular dogmas to sustain, or any speci-
al theory to establish. Living in the
world of mankind, surrounded by the
works of nature, walking, as v were,
iq the presence of the Great Eloheim,
we wish to comprehend and embrace
all truth and seek for and obtain
everything that is calculated to ex-
alt, ennoble and dignify the human
family; and wherever we find truth,
no matter where, or from what source
it may come, it becomes part and
parcel of our religious creed, if yon
please, or our political creed, or our
moral creed, or our philosophy, as
the case may be, or whatever you
may please to term it.
We are open for the reception of
all truth , of whatever nature it may
be, and are desirous to obtain and
possess it, to search after it as we
would for hidden treasures; and to
use all the knowledge God gives tons
to possess ourselves of all the intelli-
gence that he has given to others';
and to a^kat his hands to reve tl unto
us his will, in regard to things that
are the best calculated to promote the
happiness and welL being of human
society. If there are any good prin-
ciples, any moral philosophy that we
No. 22.
have not yet attained to we are desi-
rous to learn them. If there is any-
thing in the scientific world that we
do not yet comprehend we desire to
become acquainted with it. If there
is any branch of philosophy calculated
to promote the well-being of hu-
manity, that we have not yet grasped,
we wish to possess ourselves of it.
If there is anything pertaining to the
rule and government of nations, or
politics, if you please, that we are not
acquainted with, we desire to possess
it. If there are any religious ideas,
any theological truths, any principles
pertaining to God, that we have not
learned, we ask mankind, and we pray
God, our heavenly Father, to enlight-
en our minds that we may compre-
hend, realize, embrace and live up to
thrm as part of our religious faith*
Thug our ideas and thoughts would
extend as far as the wide world
spreads, embracing everything per-
taining to light, life, or existence
pertaining to this world or the world
that is to coma Tliey would dig
into the bowels of the earth, or go to
the depth of hell, if yon please; they
would soar after the intelligence of
the Gods that dwell in the elernal
worlds ; they would grasp everything
that is good and noble and excellent
and h'tppifying and calculated to pro-
mote the well-being ot the human
family.
There is no man nor set of men
who have pointed out the pathway
for our feet to tr avel in, in relation to
these matters* There are no dogmas
ndr theories extant in the world that
we pmfess to listen to, unless they
can be verified by the principles of
eternal truth. We carefully scan,
investigate, criticise and examine
everything that presents itself to on
view, and so far as we are enabled to
comprehend any truths in existence,
we gladly hail them as part and por-
tion of the system with which we are
Vol. XIV.
associated. We are quite willing
that others should be governed by the
dogmas, theories and notions of men
just as much as they please : we do
not have confidence in them. They
may worship God as they please, it is
none of our business, it is a matter
between them and their God. We
may think, in many instances, their
acts are foolish j but if they have a
mind to be foolish that is not our
business. They perhaps entertain
the same opinion in relation to us.
But we do feel, in regard to moral
and religious ideas, that we are en-
gaged in a sacred cause, and that
while men, with all their combined
wisdom and intelligence, have been
unable to introduce and establish
systems that are good, happifying,
elevating and ennobling; we think
there is a being who lives in the hea-
vens superintending the affairs ot the
human family, who is worshiped by
the great mass of humanity in one
form or another — a great power that
is capable of instructing, guiding, di-
recting and regulating the affairs of
men, as by eternal laws he governs
all nature and regulates the planetary
system. While on the one hand we
are willing that others should worship
him in what manner they please, we
have a right to the same privileges,
rights and immunities, and possessing
ourselves of this idea we take the
liberty to do so.
There are two things I have al-
ways said I would do, and I calculate
to carry them out, living or dying.
One is to vote for whom I please and
the other to worship God as I please.
There is a principle of freedom plant-
ed in the human mind that has al-
ways existed there, and no man, nor
any power has yet been able to ob-
literate it. Believing as we do we
take the liberty to believe the Bible,
which our fellow Christians, gener-
ally throughout the world, profess to
believe in, whether they do so or not.
We read in that sacred volume that,
"Holy men of old spake as they
were moved upon by the Holy Ghost."
This, to many, seems perhaps singu-
lar phraseology, but it is nevertheless
true; and if they did not, whence
came this sacred volume ? How do
men at the present day learn any*
thing pertaining to God ? Who puts
them in possession of any information
relative to the holy angels, to a
heaven, to the plans and pur*
poses of God pertaining to the earth
whereon we live, and its inhabitants?
Who revealed anything pertaining to „
future rewards and punishments, and
how did the theologians of the day
become acquainted with these princi- •
pies? Where did they get their
knowledge from ? They tell you
from the Bible. That Bible would
never have been in existence if holy
men of old had not spoken as they
were moved upon by the Holy Ghost.
If men in former times had not had re-
velation from the Most High ; if an-
gels had not ministered to them ; if
they had not had revelations and the
dark curtain of futurity had not been
withdrawn from their minds and they
bad not been enabled to gaze upon
the purposes of God as they should
roll forth in future generations : if
such "old fogies," as some call them,
had not lived, we should have had no
Bible, no Christian religion, nothing
to guide our feet, that is, so far as re-
cords are concerned. If the heavens
had always been, as many would have
us believe they are now — as brass
over our heads, and God had been
deaf to the entreaties of humanity,
we should have had no Christian or
Mosaic religion, or any religion giv-
ing any knowledge of God or his
purposes.
We profess, forsooth, in this gener-
ation of enlightenment, with all its
latitudinarianism, with all its diver-
TRUTH, ETC.
339
sities of opinions, ideas, theories
and dogmas ; with a thousand differ-
ent professedly religions parties to be
wiser than that man who said there
was " One Lord, one faith, one bap-
tism, one God who is above all,
through all and in you all." People
now-a-days think the religion they
had in those days might do for a
barbarous age, bat we are so enlight-
ened, so intelligent, so philosophical ,
that we are altogether ahead of those
" old fogies" who lived some time
ago and conversed with God and had
angels minister to them. Now I have
frequently said, and say to-day, "Tlie
Lord God deliver me from the en-
lightenment, the corruption and evil
throughout the world at the present
time," and give me some of that re-
ligion that ancient men of God had
who spake as they were moved upon
by the Holy Ghost. I would like to
associate with men whom God would
talk with, and that angels would com-
municate intelligence to, and that
the heavens could be opened to, that
could have the purposes of God un-
folded to them, that could compre-
hend the object of the creation
of the world whereon we live; the
object of the existence of man, and
his future destiny, as an eternal in-
telligent being, I want to know
whence I came, I want to know what
I am doing here, what is the object
of my existence* I want to know
something about the world whereon
I live, the object of this beautiful
creation with which I am surrounded,
and its destiny ; and if there is a God
who rules in the heavens and super-
intends the affairs of the universe I
want to know something about him,
whom to know I am told is "life ever-
lasting " If there is a religion that
will teach me that, that is the religion
I want, and anything short of that 1
would not give the ashes of a rye straw
for. People may take their philosophy,
and their Christianity, and their moral-
ity, and their intelligence, and chuckle
over their supposed superiority for
what I care if I can only get acquain-
ted with God and know something of
his law, of the principles of eternal
truth, if I can learn to save myself
and my posterity; be placed in a
position that I can obtain promises
from God as Abraham did, that should
reach down through every subsequent
period of time until the final wind-
ing up scene, and then stretch for-
ward into the eternity that is to come.
As an eternal intelligent being these
are some of the thoughts, reflections
and ideas that come through my
mind, and I can not be satisfied with
anything less. Others may be glad to
w Sit and sing themselves away," as
they ignorant ly sing sometimes, " to
everlasting bliss." They may wor-
ship a God without body, parts and
passions, or go to a heaven some-
where "beyond the bounds of time
and sp ice." I would like to be asso-
ciated with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
Jesus, the prophets and those honor-
able men who had communication
with God and that he was not asham-
ed of, and as one of the apostles says,
*c God was not ashamed to he called
their God, for he had provided for
them a city/1 I want to search for a
tangible reality, "a city that hath
foundations, whose builder and maker
is God," as the scriptures speak of a
city that one of those ancient men of
God, when under the inspiration of
the Almighty, had a vision of, and
contemplated its glory.
We are seeking, in the first place,
to regenerate ourselves, and then, un-
der the guidance and direction of the
Almighty, to regulate the world in
which we live. We know that this
is not very popular j but that makes
no difference to ua# So far as wet
ourselves, are concerned we know
precisely where we stand ; so far as
340
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
the world is concerned, as to the re-
ception of our ideas by them, that is
their business, and God's business.
They have to do with him and we
have to do with him. We are in his
hands, and all J he world of mankind
are in Us bunds, and he will manage
and control them and dictate and
regulate them according to the dic-
tates of his will, and not according to
my theories or yours or any other
persons, and, "The judge of all the
earth will do right/' This people
know what they are doing, and they
know precisely their position whether
others do or not.
What has called yon oat from
amoiiLf the nations, you who are here
before me ? I speak now to Latter-
day Saints, you who heard the sound
of the Gospel in the various lands
that you came from. When the Elders
came and preached unto you it was
something like the position of Paul
of old — fct Their words came to you
with power and demonstration and
with the Holy Ghost," and their
words and testimony and spirit re-
sponded to that spirit which was in
your bosoms, and you hailed their
testimony as a message of light, and
you obeyed it : you went forth into
the waters of baptism amid the scorn,
contumely, reproach and contempt of
the world, retigiou , philosophical and
moral Inspired by the fire of troth
you braved the whole of it. By the
same spirit and influence yon have
been gathered together here, as yon
are to-day in this city and in these
valleys of the mountains, throughout
the length and breadth of this Terri-
tory. Your ideas were based on the
revelations of God, the message that
yon heard was that God had spoken,
that the heavens had been opened,
that angels had appeared as they had
formerly, that the everlasting Gospel
had been restored in all Us richness,
fulness, fiovver and glory, that it wis
your privilege to know for yourselves
the truth of the principles you be-
lieved in. You believed those prin-
ciples,}^ went forth into the waters
of baptism and obeyed them, you
have all been baptized into one bap-
tism, have all partaken of one spirit,
and are here under the same influence,
guidance and direction; and hence
we are here assembled, as on this
occasion to-day, not by our own wis-
dom and intelligence, not by the
intelligence of the world, not by the
intelligence of Joseph Smith, Erigham
Young, any of the Apostles, or any-
body else, bat by the intelligence and
inspiration of the Lord of Hosts to
them and to you, and by the Spirit
of God attending the administration
of his Elders, and you have kriown
and comprehended and realized for
yourselves the truths which you be-
lieved in.
Standing in this capacity there is a
work which we have to perform — to
save ourselves, our progenitors, our
posterity, and to act as saviors upon
Mount Zion, to build the temples of
the Lord and to administer in them,
and as eternal beings to watch a'ter
the eternal interests of humanity.
This is the position that we occupy.
We tind men come along among
us sometimes who think we are fools,
and that they could improve matters
considerably. They have had plenty
of opportunity in the world to do
that, why haven't they accomplished
it ? There is room enough for all
the philosophers, and all the theolo
gians, and all the wise men and phil-
anthropists to benefit mankind outside
of us. Anywhere, everywhere, go
where you will, and what do you
find ? Corruption, evil, iniquity, hy-
po crisy of every grade and form, and
under all circumstances, moral, re-
ligious, political and social, and every-
thing else you please to name. So-
cieties convulsed, rending apart, vili-
TKUTH, ETC.
341
fying and abusing one another ; full
of corruption and rottenness, evil and
iniquity of every kind, socially, mor-
ally and religiously. Plenty of room
for all philanthropises and lor all
men who desire to benefit t he human
family. Go and regulate them. Put
the United States right, regulate
England and France, put Germany
straight. Regulate the affairs of t lie
nation?, and then come and talk to
us. But until' we see something bet-
tor than the kind of civilization that
we are having introduced here, we
beg to be excused from it. We saw
enough ot that before we came here ;
and the examples that are exhibited
in our midst, are too revolting, too
degrading and humiliating for decent
men and women to have anything to
do with, la this indeed the vaunted
civilization so much talked of? We
do not want it. " My soul, enter not
thou into their secrets ; my honor,
with them be not thou united !" We
are after more houorable aims, more
exalted feelings and principles and
views than those that are imported
into our midst here, I used to be-
lieve in that scripture, and I have a
good deal of faith in it yet, that " an
impure fountain cannot send forth
pure streams ;" that ua bad tree will
not bring forth good fruit;" and that
trees are *' known by their ft nits" I
am a believer of that kind of thing
yet, and in speaking of these affairs 1
feel a good deal as one of the servants
of God felt when he was engaged in
building the walls of old Jerusalem,
There was s nne man came up and
wanted to interfere with his oper-
ations, but said he, :t I am doing a
great work, hinder me not." We
feel about the same. We are engag-
ed in a great work, we are seeking
after our own salvation and the sal-
vation ot our friends, the salvation ot
our forefathers, the salvation of our
children and posterity who shall come
r after us, the salvation of the world
wherein we live and its everlasting hap-
piness and exhaltution, " hinder us
nor," Pursue your own course, wor-
ship as you please, do is you please,
follow your own inclinations in any
other way, only do not interfere with
the rights of men nor violate the laws
of the land, That is all we ask, and
you have full liber ty to carry out any
views and feelings you please, I re-
member reading a few lines of some
very zealous Protestant who wrote
over some public building: 14 In this
place may enter Greek, Jew or Athe-
ist, anything but a Papist," Now I
say let the Papist come in too, the
Moslem, the Greek, the Jew, the
Pagan believer and unbeliever, and
the whole world. If God sends his
rain on the good and evil and makes
his sun shine on the just and unjust,
1 certainly shall not object. uefc
them worship as they please, and have
full freedom and equal rights and
privileges with us, ami all num. These
are our leelings, and, as I said before,
we are desirous, so far as wu cm, to
be instructed in everything that is
calculated to exalt and ennoble the
human family. Others, of course, can
do as they please about it And in
speaking of the Saints let me tell you
that the religion you embraced Hve,
ten, twenty, thirty or forty years ago
is just the same now as it was then;
it is like its author, 14 The same yes-
terday, to-day and for ever," We
have not u changed our ba^e," us they
talk about sometimes in l heir wars;
we have no u new departures/' as
others talk about We are after r.he
truth. We commenced searching for
it, and we are constantly in search of
it, and so fast as we tin 1 auv true
principle revealed by any man, hy
God or by holy angels, we embrace it
and make it part of our religious
creed* r.* , I r
Nobody need be concerned at all hy
312
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
the events that have been transpiring
here, or that may transpire. There
is nothing new in relation to these
matters. It is only a little piece of
the same material that we have ex-
perienced in years gone by, and that
the Saints of God have al ways had to
cope with. They talk sometimes
about onr morality here, and the
action of this people and so forth.
In conversation lately, with a judge
from Montana, I forget his name, I
1oId him I had been judge of the pro-
bate court in Utah County, one of the
largest counties in Utah, perhaps the
largest with the exception of Salt
Lake, and that during two years,
wnile acting in that capacity, I had
niio criminal case — petty larceny —
ronie before me, and three civil cases,
two of which were decided by arbi-
tration, I asked him how he got
along: in Montana, Said he, 41 in the
same time while I was judge there,
probate judge, I had to act as probate
on upwards of eighty cases, most of
whom came to their death by violent
means." Why didn't they blame the
Governor or the Mayors of cities for
killing these men ? Could so many
murders be committed and the May-
ors and Governors not do it? It is
astonishing ! Now I would rather be
the friend and associate of these men
whom they call murderers here than of
their most honorable men, and so
would this people, and all who be-
lieve it say aye. (The crowded con-
gregation gave one unanimous "aye/*)
They cannot show such a record in
finy part of the world as we can ex-
hibit in this Territory in relation to
th. se matters ; and i hey cannot find
another Territory that has been so
well managed in its financial matters.
Our city here is out of debt; our
cities throughout the Territory are
Out of debt j ou** counties are out of
debt and our Territory is out of debt.
Where can you point to the same
thing anywhere else? Well, they
have got such good, smart, intelligent
men in other places that they manage
to keep things right, and we are fools
here! A good many people think
that Mayor Wells is not half smart
enough, and that if they were in his
place they could manage the munici-
pal finances a great deal better. I
presume the same as ( hey were mani-
pulated in Xew York. (Laughter.)
But we don't want such Mayors, nor
such Gov- mors, nor such institutions
in our midst. We want righteous-
ness and truth and equity and honor
and integrity, and men to be govern-
ed by correct principles, and to seek
the well-being of the people they live
among and rule over, And who are
these men they are now prosecuting
and persecuting? Why, here is
Brigham Young, for instance, I have
travelled with him thousands of miles,
preaching the Gospel without purse
or scrip. What has he done to any-
body? Whom has he injured? Can
anybody put their finger on it ? Not
and tell the truth. 1 know before
God thev lie. I have been with him
in private and public under all ciicu in-
stances and 1 know his feelings. I
know they are liars when they make
these statements, and this people be-
lieve it too.
Well, what si) all we do then ?
Why, do right It is all right, who
cams? Whe wrath of man shall
praise the Lord, He holds them and
us in his hands, and he will control,
guide, manage and direct all things
according to the counsel of his will,
and no power in this city nor in these
United States I say, and 1 will pro-
phesy it in the name of Israel's God,
shall harm you (Congregation said
u Amen.") God will control, direct
and manage all the affairs pertaining
to his people, and Israel will rejoice
and be triumphant, and the kingdom
ot God will be established, and the
■
ZION
343
power of God will be manifested, and
the work of God will progress, and
the kingdom ot God will roll forth,
from conquering unto conquer, until
the kingdoms of this world shall
become the kingdoms of our God and
hts Christ, and he shall reign with
universal empire.
May God Kelp us all to be faithful,
in the name of Jesus, Amen,
DISCOURSE BY ELDER ORSON PRAT i\
Delivered in the Taukrnacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Aftern'oov,
March 10, X872.
(Reported by David W, Evans.)
o
ZION.
The speaker who addressed you
this forenoon j referred to another
book, that is called the Book of Doc-
trine and Covenants. I will select a
few words from that book this after-
noon— a part of the Sth paragraph,
of the 21st section, being a revelation
given to the Prophet Joseph Smith,
in September, 3831, The word of
the Lord to the Prophet reads thus :
u For behold, I say unto you that
Zion shall flourish, and the glory of the
Lord shall be upon her, and she shall
be an ensign uuto the people, and
there shall come unto her out of every
nation under heaven. And the day
flhall come when the nations of the
earth shall tremble because of her,
and shall fear because of her terrible
ones. The Lord hath spoken it.
Amen."
Much has been said since the rise
of this Church in regard to the Zion
of the latter days, and much more
might be said, for after we have said
all that we can say, as far as God has
revealed, I presume that we shall not
be able to portray scarcely anything
compared with the glory an i great-
ness and the excellency and the
beauty of that people and of that city
that are called Zion, to be built up on
the earth in the latter times*
The first question that naturally
presents itself to the mind in regard
to Zion is this: AVhat is Zion?
What are we to understand by its
term ? Is it a city ? Is it a people?
Is it a good people or a bad people?
What may we understand by the
term aa used iu the Scriptures?
There are a great many ideas among
the children of men in reference to
this term, especially among all Chris-
tian denomination I presume there
is not a p ople on the whole face of
the earth who profess to be Christian
but what have their definition of the
term Zion. If we go to the Catholics
they tell us that they are Zion — that
they are the only people whom the
Lord acknowledges as Zion, If we
344
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
go to the Greek Church, that has ex-
isted contemporary with the Catho-
lics for many centuries, and inquire
of them what their understanding is
concerning Zion, they will tell us that
it is the Greek Church. You go to
all the Protestant denominations that
have dissented from the Catholics and
from the Greek Church and inquire
of them what Zion is, and the answer
of the greater portion of them will
be, it is the various Christian de-
nominations, such as the Lutherans,
the Church of England, the Metho-
dists, the varipus order of Baptists,
and the various Christian denomin-
ations that have arisen during the
last three or four centuries. Go to
the Latter-day Saints and inquire ot
them what Zion is, and they will tell
you it is the Church of tlie liv-
ing God wherever it tan be found-
Consequently in order to ascertain
what. Zion is it is necessary for us to
understand what the Church of the
living God is, and try to distin-
guish lietween that Church and all
other Churches. I shall endeavor, in
a very few words, to mark out some
of the distinguishing features between
the true Church of the living God and
Churches built up by human wisdom;
and when we have ascertained what
the true Church is we shall then have
learned what the true Zion is.
I will begin with some of the first
principles which God has revealed,
and which it is necessary for mankind
to obey be! ore they can constitute a
part and portion of Zion. Before
Zion, or the Church of the living
God, can have any existence on the
earth it is very important and neces-
sary that there should be divine ad-
ministrators. What I mean by this
is, men having a divine mission, a
divine c?j11 — being called of the Lord
by the spirit of revelation to build up
Zion on the earth. And when I
speak of men having a divine call I
i do not mean those who have merely
I an impression, as a great many min-
isters among all religious denomin-
ations say that they are called of God
because they have an impression that
God has sent them, and they go forth
I and preach their peculiar doctrines,
as a mission which they have to de-
liver to the people. One man who
says he is sent of God preaches bap-
tism by sprinking; another man sent
by the same God, or who professes to
be, teaches baptism by pouring water
on people. A third man, who says
he is sent of God, and has an im-
pression to preach, preaches that bap-
tism by immersion is the only true
mode, and is to be administered to
those who have experienced religion,
and have obtained forgiveness of wins.
A fourth man comes forth and says
he is called of God, and has a divine
mission, and the way that God. has
taught him is to be baptized by im-
mersion for the remission of sins.
Now we must not undertake to
suppose that God is the author of all
these different methods, and that he
sent all these different ministers^ t£
he sent any one man to baptize by
sprinkling, then those who baptize by
immersion are false teachers, running
of their own accord. if he sent any
one man to pour water on those who
are candidates to be baptized, he has
never sent any persons to sprinkle,
neither to baptize by immersion;
and if we can ascertain who it is that
is sent, and what the form of ordi-
nances is that are to be administered,
then we shall understand something
towards the first principles of the
building up of Zion on the earth, or,
to come more directly to the point,
concerning these divinely authorized
messengers. How should true mes-
sengers of heaven be sent ? In what
way has God always sent them ? By
divine revelation. Now there never
was a dispensation since God made
ZION.
3i5
man ou the earth wherein a message
was sent forth to the human family
unless there was revelation connected
with that message, unless the min-
isters who bnre that message forth to
the human family were divinely cal-
led bv revelation, new revelation I
mean. I need not go back and trace
the callings and the gifts of God unto
the patriarchs before the flood, nor
those who lived immediately after the
flood, nor in the days of Moses, nor
in the days of the prophets who fol-
lowed Moses; nor in the days of
Jesus, nor in the days of the Apos-
tles. All these are before the people,
the callings and the gilts that were
manifested in those days among the
various dispensations which God has
introduced among the human family.
In all these various dispensations God
has directly spoken from the heavens;
he has communicated his will to the
human family. He has raised up re-
velators and inspired them, he has
filled his servants with the spirit of
prophecy, that they should foretell
the future, lit* lias inspired them to
write revelations, and hence in all
these different dispensations the God
of heaven has thus authorized the
children of men to build up his Zion ou
the earth, and without these no such
thing as Zion can be built up among
the children of men.
Those persons were not only called
by revelation, but they also were
guided after they were called by the
spirit of revelation in all their tra-
vels, Sometimes when they, of their
own accord, would have a disposition
to visit a certain city, town, neighbor-
hood or nation, the Spirit would
speak unto them and say: "Not so,
that is not the place for you;" and
they would be constrained by the
Holy Ghost not to travel in that di-
rection, but to go to some other city
that that same Spirit should desig-
nate and point out to them. Thus
they were guided and directed where
they should go, what they should
preach, what form of doctrine to de-
liver to the people, what kind of
ordinance to administer to them ;
every particular was given by reve-
lation from the Most High*
Let us stop right here and enquire.
Have there been any Christian de-
nominations for the last seventeen
centuries that have enjoyed this
spirit of divine revelation ? If there
have been, then Zion existed un the
earth during the period this spirit of
revelation was enjoyed. When this
spirit of revelat ion ceased Zion ceased;
when people ceased to be called by
direct revelation } and the Scriptures
ceased to receive any additional hooks,
then Zion ceased among the children
of men. When mankind came to the
conclusion that their own wisdom was
all-sufficient, independent of any more
revelation, Zion ceased from oft* the
earth.
How long is it since Zion ceased ?
For everybody will admit, anions all
Christian denominations, that there
h sis been no revelation for sotne seven-
teen hundred years, — among all the
Protestants of the present day, among
all the Catholics that lived before
them and that now live, and among
all the different peoples and nations
and tongues that have received the
doctrines of the Catholics, or of the
Greek Church. They all admit that,
they all testify and acknowledge that
God has had no inspired men on the
earth since the days of thr Apostles,
consequently he has had no Church
on the earth, for whenever the Church
of God exists there exists prophets
and men who are capable of writing
Scripture j there exists men who
have communion and fellowship with
God; there exists men to whom the
Lord communicates his will by the
ministration of holy angels and by
his own voice. Therefore when these
346
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
things ceased, and men ceased to be
inspired to write Scripture, and the
Scripture was pronounced full and
complete, sealed up as it were, that
moment the people called Zion are
banished from the face of the earth ;
or in other words the Church of the
living God has do existence thereon.
There was a Zion on the earth in
the first century of the Christian era.
They were Christians; they believed
in Christ; they worshiped Christ,
they received his ordinances, they
were filled with the spirit of reve-
lation, they had their inspired pro-
phets and reve!ators ;t they had their
heavenly visions ; they had the minis-
tration of angels; they could hear
the * oice of God ; they could behold
in heavenly vision the face of the
Lord Jesus Christ ^fterhe had ascen-
ded to his Father and was glorified at
his right hand. They bore testimony
that they had seen him, that he I ad
conversed with them and that he had
communicated his will unto them.
These were Christians; that was the
Christian Church ; that may be pro-
n on need Zion.
What existed after this? The
Apostles were put to death ; they
were hunted from nation to nation;
they wandered about in sheep skins
and goat skins in the dens and caves
of the earth, of whom the world was
tin worthy. Their followers were put
to death by hundreds, by thousands,
by tens of thousands ; and ■after a
while there sprang up a people that
pretended to be Christians — followers
of the meek and lowly Jesus, having
no apostles, oo inspired men, no re-
velation, no ministration of angels,
none of the characteristics, except a
few forms, of the Christian Church as
it existed in the first century of the
Christian era. This class of men,
calling themselves Christian, uniting
with the various forms of the pagan
religion, adopting many of their cere-
monies and institutions, became very
popular, and finally some of the pa-
gans embraced Christianity and were
placed, as it were, upon the throne,
and what they termed Christianity
became very popular indeed. How
long has this order of things existed,
this dreadful apostacy, this class of
people that pronounced themselves
Zion, or Christians, without any of
the characteristics of Zion ? Ii has
existed for some sixteen or seventeen
centuries. It has spread itself and
grown and gone into the four quarters
of the earth. It is the great ecclesi-
astical power that is spoken of by the
revelator John, and called by him the
raoefc corrupt and most wicked of all
the powers of the earth, under the
name of spiritual Babylon, or in other
words Babel, which si unifies con fusion.
This great and corrupt power is also re-
presented by John as presenting a gol-
den cap to the nations, full of all man-
ner of lilihiuess and abominations,
She is termed, in other places, by
the same prophet, "The whore of all
the earth," making the nations drink
of the wine of the wrath of her
fornication.
Some three centuries ago there
came out some excellent men, named
Martin Luther, John Calvin and many
others that might be mentioned, who
protested against the wickedness and
abominations of the Church wherein
they had been educated, and of which
they had been members, Because of
their protestations against the mother
Church they were called Protestants.
They pronounced her the whoieof all
the earth ; they declared that she had
no authority, that she had none of
the blessings and gifts which charac-
terized the ancient Christians. They
came out and established other Chur-
ches. The Lutheran Church pre-
vailed in Germany and various por-
tions of northern Europe. The Cal-
vinist Church or Presby terian Church
ZION
34T
was also established. Henry the
Eighth established and became head
of the English Church. Wesley, at
a later period, established a Church
which has grown to great numbers at
the present day. But among all
these Churches where are the charac-
teristics of Zion ? We hunt for them
in vain. Go to all these 666 different
Protestant denominations that have
come out from the mother Church,
and inquire of them, Have you
inspired men among you ? and their
united voice is that God speaks no
more in our day ; no other message is
given from heaven; no voice is heatd
from t ho eternal worlds; no angels
are sent in these days; no inspired
apostles are raised up to establish the
Church and the Kingdom of God ;
no men arc tilled with the spirit of
prophecy to portray the events of the
future, oi to accomplish and perform
the work of God in our day. We en-
quire, " What have you ?" " Oh we
have 6(16 different denominations and
we have surnamcd ourselves Chris-
tians. We are Bible Christians."
How mistaken they are! Bible
Christians were ihose who i elieved in
having apostles and inspired p»o-
phets among them. Bible Christians
could eecTtvi- more revelation and add
more books to the Bible; Bible
Christians could converse with the
Lord, and oftemimes beheld the (ace
of Jesus; they could commune with
holy angels ; they Sad authority from
God to lay hands upon those whom
they baptized, for the reception or
baptism of the Holy Ghost. This
was what< constituted ancient Zion ;
but inquire for these characteristics
among these 666 different Christian
denominai ions and they will tell you
they are all gone, they have not any
of them amongst them. Now sup-
pose we take their word for it! I
do, I really believe ihem. I thick
they tell the truth when they say
they have no inspired men. I believe
them when they say they have
neither prophets nor apostles among
them. Why do I believe them?
Because they have received no new
books in addition to the Bible, and
whenever God had a people on the
earth they were constantly giving
new books, inspired from on high,
and when that ceases we draw the
conclusion that inspiration has ceased.
Under these circumstances what is
to be done ? If the world lias thus
apostatized, and there has been no
Church of the living God, no Zion
among the nations for the long
period I have named, what are we to
expect ? Is the world always to re*
main in this condition? Hai God
spoken for the last time ? Were the
few favored Christians who lived in the
first century of our era the last ones
who were to be favored with a message
from heaven? I think not, the
Bible tells us a different story alto-
gether. Thar, book tells us that there
is to be one of the greatest dispensa-
tions ushered in upon [he face of the
earth that ever has been since the
creation of man, and I profess to be-
lieve the Bible* When I read the
words of the Apostle Paul about the
new dispensation that should take
place after his day, I believe it. You
will find in the first chapter of his
epistle to the Ephesians thai in the
dispensation of the fulness of times
he shall gather together in one all
things that are in Chi i&t, whether they
he in heaven, or here on the earth,
A dispensation of gathering, a clispen-
sation called the dispensation of the
fulness of times, a dispensation in
which the very heavens, and all the
spirits of men that are behind the vail
are to be gathered in one; all things
that are in Christ to be gathered in
one, preparatory to the great resurrec-
tion that will takt- place in that
dispensation.
343
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
The dispensation that was intro*
duced in the days of the apostles was
Dot a dispensation of gathering.
When the apostles went forth to
build up the Church of Christ at
Corinth or at Ephesus, in Galatia or
any other part of the earth, the Chris*
tiane all remained where thev re-
eeived the Gospel except those who
were driven into the mountains by
the persecutions' of their enemies.
But in that last dispensation there
is to be one feature characterizing it
that did not characterize the dispen-
sation established by the ancient
apostles, namely the gathering to-
gether of the people — all that are in
Christ'' from the, endi of the earth,
When that dispensation is introduced
Z'on will be introduced again, the
Lo<d will bring again Zion.
Many of yoa who are Bible be-
lievers have read a great many pro-
phecies about the Zion of the latter
days and how the Lord should bring
again Zion, which seems to intimate
that Zion was onoe oc the earth, that
it was lost from the earth for a cer-
tain period of time, and that the
Lord wa« going to restore it once
more, Let us hear what Isaiah has
said on this subject; ** Thy watch-
men shall lift up their voice, with the
voice together shaU they sing, for
they will see eye to eye when the
Lord shall bring again Zion." But
perhaps strangers may inquire, H ,w
are we to know the period or age of
the worl I when the Lord shall bring
again Zion, or in olher words restore
his Chin cli to the earth ? Wh it are
the signs of that day, that we may
dis -em the signs of the times ? I
will tell you how you may know that
period, If you will go to the 102nd
Psalm of David you will find a clue to
that period, I think I will read a
little of that psalm for the benefit of
strangers, ** Wbea the Lord shall
build up Zion he shall appear in his
I glory." I think this gives a clue to
\ the period, for every one will admit
that the Lord has not yet appeared in
\\\h glury. We are looking for him.
The Christians of all denominations
expect that be will appear in the
clouds of heaven with power and
great glory. The Litter-day Saints
expect this in common with all other
Christians. But before he appears in
his glory he is going to build up
Zion, that is, Zion must again be
built up on the earth : and if there is
not a Zion built up on the earth be-
fore he comes, or in other words, if
there never is to be another Zion
1 built up on the earth, then he never
will come. But when we see the day
arrive that the Lord begins to estab-
lish hi* Church on the enrth once
more, characterized by apostk s and
prophets, and introduces a dispen-
sation of gathering, wherein nil in
Christ shall be gathered together in
one; when the period of time shall
come that the watchmen in that
Ziun shall see eye to eye and with the
voice together sing, we may know
that the Lord is earning in his glory,
and is near at hand.
We will read a few other passages
in the same psalm. 14 Thou shalt
arise and have mercy upon Zion, for
the tttne to favor her, yea the set
time has come." The L'>rd has a set
time for a great many of his purposes.
A set time tor the scattering of
Israel ; a set time for Jerusalem to be
j trodden down by the Gentiles until
their times are fulfilled ; a set time
for the stone out of the mountain
to be cut without hands aud the
kingdom of God lo be organized on
the earth ; a set time for the coming
of the angel with the everlasting
Gospel to be preached to all people,
nations, kindreds and tongues j a set
time for the Lord to favor Zion, as is
here declared. " For thy servants
take pleasure in her stones aud favor
zion. 349
the dust thereof ; so the heathen
shrill fear the name of the Lord and
all the kings of the earth thy f?lory."
Now do not mistake, any of you
strangers, and think that this was
fulfilled in the days of David, It
was written for a period long after
his day. This shall be written for
the ^fenerations to come, " And the
people which shall he created shall
praise the Lord/' That is, future
generations of the earth — those who
live at that peculiar period of time
when the Lord should again build up
Zion on the earth. For 4i he hath
looked down from the height of his
Sanctuary, from heaven did the Lord
behold tin* earth, to hear the groan-
ing of the prisoner, to loose those
who were appointed to death, to de-
clare the name of the Lord in Zion,
and his praise in Jerusalem/' But,
says one, *' That means the first time
he came.rt Let us read the next
verse and see if it really means that
period. u When the people are
gathered together and the kingdoms
to serve he Lord/' Now, were the
people gathered together in the days
of the first coming of Jesus ? No.
Were the kingdoms then assembled
to serve the Lord ? No, Recollect
that Paul predicted that in the dis-
pensation of the fulness of times, all
things in Christ aits to be gathered
together in one. Then the heathen
nations and the kingdoms of the
earth shall he gathered. What for?
To be taught in his ways, and in-
structed to walk in his paths.
We will now quote another passage
that has reference to the same great
event. It is contained in the 2nd
chapter of Isaiah the prophet. u And
it shall come to pass in the last
days " — recollect now it is a work of
the latter time — "It shall come to
pass in the last days that the moun-
tain of the Lord's house shall be es-
tablished in the top of the mountains
und shall be exalted above the hills,
and all nations shall flow unto it"
When was this fulfilled ? Every per-
son with any reflection whatever, that
has the least particle of faith in this
prophecy, knows that it never has
been fulfilled. The Zion that was
built up in the days of David and
that he dwelt in, the Zion that was
in existence at Jerusalem 1800 years
ago was thrown dowu. Zion was
plowed like a fluid, as the Prophet
JJiciib predicted it would be. The
houses, palaces and mansions in Jeru-
salem that were called Ziun were all
thrown down, and the beautiful Tern*
pie was also torn down and not
one stone left upon another. Bat in
the last days 11 The mountain of the
house of the Lord shall be established
in the tops of the mountains, shall be
exalted above the hills, and all nations
shall flow unto it." Tim shows that
it will be a work that will attract the
attention of the nations. It will not
be a work like that which is perfor-
med by erring humanity, by men
without inspiration; but a work of
the Lord our God. When he sfrnll
build up Zion he will appear in his
glory ; when he builds up Zion he
will bless the inhabitants, the habi-
tations, the palaces, the gates and
everything round about that Zion,
and the towers within that Zion, all
will be blessed according to the testi-
mony of the prophets*
But let us read a little further to
show more fully that this was a work
of the latter day^ i£ And all nations
shall flow unto it and many people
shall go and say 'Come ye and let us
go up to the mountain of the Lord, to
the house of the God of Jacob, and
he will teach us of his way* and we
will walk in his paths, for out of
Zion shall go forth the law. and the word
of the Lord from Jeru sale p.*" Two se-
parate and distinct places. The whole
of the twelve tribes of Israel are to
350 JOURNAL OF
return back to Palestine in Asia and
rebuild their city of Jerusalem and a
temple within that city before, and
preparatory to the coming of the
Lord, Ezekiel, in describing the
latter-day building of Jerusalem, says,
" And the name of the city from that
day forward shall be 4 The Lord is
there/" After the rebuilding of that
city it will never be forsaken, or
plucked up. As Jeremiah says in
his 31st chapter, " It shall never be
plucked up or thrown down hence-
forth and for ever/' It will stand
while all the generations of the
earth shall stand when the house of
Israel shall re turn and rebuild it un-
der the direction of the Almighty,
But Zion is also to bo built up.
Another city, not old Jerusalem, but
a new Jerusalem, called Zion, upon
the great western hemisphere, pre-
paratory to the coming of the Lord.
"Out of Zion shall go forth the law,"
says the prophet What law ? A
law to regulate the nations, a law
teaching them how to be saved, a law
informing the kings and emperors
and the nobles of the earth how they
ca n save themselves, and how ihey
can save their dead* When the
mountain of the house of the Lord
is established on the tops of
the mountains they will gather
from all those nations to this house
of the Lord, to be instructed in his
ways, that is to learn how to save
themselves, and bow to save their
ancestors from generation to gener-
ation. How to be baptized for the
dead, according to the custom prac-
tised by the imcient apostles j how to
administer for and in behalf of the
dead. The temple of the Lord, the
house of God, that we heard of this
morning, is built for that express
purpose. See what follows : " And
he shall judge among the nations and
rebuke many people, and they shall
beat their swords into ploughshares
Di^counsEs,
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nations shall not lift up sword against
nation neither shall they learn war
any mote."
Now every person will acknowledge
with me that such an order of things
has not yet been fulfilled. It is the
Millennium, it is that glorious period
of rest when Jesus, personally, will
reign on tins earth, when his throne
will be built in the temple at Jerusa-
lem, when he will descend on the
Mount of Olives on the east of Jeru-
salem accompanied by all his Saints,
as you will read in the last chapter of
the Prophet Zachariah; "The Lord
thy God shall come," says Zachariah,
"and all his Saints with him, and he
shall slacd his feet in that day on the
Mount of Olives, which is before
Jerusalem to the earn ; and the Mount
of Olives shall divide asunder, half of
the mountain moving towards the
north, and half towards the south,
and there shall be a very great valley,"
and soon. And when he descends
with all his Saints on that mountain,
and this great convulsion of the earth
takes place, then will Jesus proceed
down to the new gate that will be
buili on the east side of the temple —
I the east gate of the temple, and he
I will enter into that temple and will
seat himself on the throne that will
be built in that temple. Ezekiel
when describing this, in the 43rd
chapter of his prophecy, says, or
rather the Lord through Ezekiel says,
" Son of man behold the place of my
throne, and the place of the soles of
my feet where I will dwell in the
midst of the children of Israel for
ever, And they shall no more defile
j my name," and so forth. Here is a
prediction that, in that Ifemple will be
a certain apartment dedicated and set
apart for the throne of the Lord,
where he will sit, as the Prophet
Zachariah and many of the Apostles
have predicted, on the throne of his
ZIOX
351
father David, and judge the whole
house of Israel. Dwell with them
personally, be In their midst.
Where will be the twelvo Apostles
that wandered about with him, when
Jesus comes and si Is upon that
throne? They will also be silting
upon thrones; Where? In Pales- I
tine. " Ye who have followed me in
the regeneration shall sit upon twelve
thrones, and .shall judge the twelve
tribes ot Israel, and you shall eat and
drink at my table at the time you shall
do this/1 What-? Immortal beings
sitting upon tlironrs, having a table
set for them and eating and drinking
at the table of Jesus in Jerusalem ?
Yes, tli is is what is promised, and
what we are looking for; this is the
order of things that will come when
Zion is fully established on the earth
preparatory to that order of things.
No wonder that nations will uo lon-
ger lii't up sword against nation ! 1
No wonder that kings will no longer
fight against kings, and emperors
against emperors ! No wonder that
they will beat their swords into ,
plough si) ares, and their spears into
pruning hooks, for it will be a day of
peace and rest, of which our present
Sabbath is typical. As there is one
day out of seven set apart, sanctified
and ordained as a day of rest, so there
is one thousand years? set apart as a
day of rest out of the seven thousand
which will constitute the temporal
existence of our earth* That will be
the time when the Lord Jesus will
reign as King of kings and Lord of
lords. That will be the time when
the kings and nations will come up to
Zion and also to Jerusalem, The
kingdoms will be gathered together
to serve the Lord*
Supposing some of them should ,
happen to refuse, those that live off a
great distance should conclude to re-
fuse, and not go up to worship the
Lord of hosts, let us see what will be-
come of them. After having spoken
! of the Lord coming with all the
i Saints with him, and standing his feet
on the Mount of Olives, the prophet
says: "And it shall come to pass in
that day that the lig'it shall not be
clear or dark, but it shall be one day,
which shall be known to the Lord;
not day nor night, but it shall come
to pass that at evening time it shall
be light. And it shall be in that day
that living waters shall go out of
I Jerusalem, half towards the lormet
sea, and half towards the hinder sea;
in summer and in winter shall it
lie." Again he says, speaking \>f
Jerusalem, " Al en shall dwell in it.
There shall be no more utter destruc-
tion, Jerusalem shall be safely in-
habited. And this shall be the plague
wherewith the Lord will smite all the
people that have fought against Jeru-
salem; their flesh shall consume away
while they stand upon their feet;
their eyes shall consume away in
their holes, and their tongues shall
consume away in their mouths/1
Again he says: "And it shall be
that whosoever will not come up of
»11 the families of the earth unto
Jerusalem to worship the King, the
. Lord of hosts, even upon them there
shall be no lain ; and if the family of
Egypt go not up that have no rain,
there shall be the plague wherewith
the Lord will smite the heathen that
come not up to keep the feast of
tabernacles. In that day there shall
be upon the bells of the horses * holi-
ness unto the Lord/" We sec then
that the nations of the earth around
about Jerusalem will be under the
necessity, by the law which God has
ordained, to fulfil these prophecies, to
go up once a year for the purpose
of beholding Jesus sitting upon his
throne in the midst of Jerusalem, and
of beholding the twelve Apostles as
they sit upon their thrones judging
the twelve tribes of Israel. From
352
/
year to year they will have to go up
far the purpose of worshiping him.
Bv and by sumo of them, perhaps,
Will get it into their hearts that there
is no use in their going up. " What
is the use of our taking thifl long
jtoumey to Jerusalem ? n and they
Will begin to say within their hearts
«i— * We can serve God here in onr
own land jttet as well as going op to
Jerusalem,** Just as soon aa they be*
giu to apostatise in this way the Lord
will send a plague, a famine, that is,
With old the rains of heaven, so that
their lands will be parched up, aud if
the iamily of Egypt, that have no
rain, ref'u^ to go up, there will be a
peculiar plague set apart for them,
namely, the same kind of a plague
that will came upon the various na-
tions that gather op against Jerusa-
lem to ha ttlt lust beforethe Lord
comes and stands his feet upon the
Jlocmt of Olives. Vi It will be no
judgment, no calamity whatever for
no rain to be given to the land of
Egypt, because they depend on the
waters of the Nile, by irrigation they
overflow the land, hence it is no par-
ticular ^consequence to the people of
Lo wet Egypt nave no rain,
f I roeniiun all these things in order
Ifcat the Latter-day Saints may be re*
refreshed in regai d to the gi eat events
that must take place in the latter
times, and that strangers who are in
our midst may have a more full un-
derstanding of the views of the Lat-
ter-day Saints in regard to the ancient
prophecies. You see we are looking
ior the building up of Zion on the
earth, R* the lilting up of the stan-
dard of the Lord, an ensign for the
nations ; or in ot her words, as I read
sat the commencement of my remarks :
^Por behold Zion kthdl go forth and
become the joy of the whole, earth,
and the glory of God shall be upon
her and the day shall come when the
natiors of the earth shall fear aud
tremhle because of her, and shall fear
because of her terrible ones." Why?
Because the Lord himself will be in
the midst of Ziuu, betore he cjmes on
the Mount of Olive&f . /
Now here is the difference between
Zion and old Jerusalem. The Jews,
or many of them, wiH gather buck to
Jerusalem in a state of unbelief in the
true Messiah, helievinft in the prophets
bat rejecting the New Testament, and
looking for the Messiah to come,
honest-hearted oo donbt, many of
them* And they v\ nJ rebuild Jerusa-
lem after the times of the Gentiles are
fulfilled, Whil£ in that state of un*
belief Go£ and Matfog. the inh&bf*
tants of Russia and all those nations
in northern Europe and northern
Asia, a great multitude, will gather
against the Jews before Jesus com en,
and they will fill up the great valley
of Armageddon, the great valley of
Jiho>aphat and all the surrounding
valleys; they will bo like ft cloud
covering the, laud, Hprses and
chariots :o s h 01 semen, a very great
army, will Lather up there to take a
spoil, I^br you know when the
Rothschilds and the great bankers
amonif the Jewish nation shall return
back to their own land to rebuild the
city of Jerusalem, curryiqjf their cap-
ital with them, it
some of the natlo
will go up against
a spoil. And the
taking half the c
when they are n
almost ruin
, and the latter
iTiisalem to take
will succeed in
PT captive; and
s act of destroy-
ing that citv. behold the Lord will
come with all his Saints, and he shall
stand his feet on the Mount of Olives,
"And in that day n says the Prophet
Zach ii iali "shall the Lord go forth
and tight against all those nations
that hav e fought against Jerusalem,
and their 'fle^h shrill consume away
upon their bones, their eyes in
their sockets, This great calamity
comes upon the Jewish nation in
consequence of their unbelief in the
true Messiah. .
Not so with Zion,hhe will be built
upon the great western hemisphere
in North America, and become a
righteous people Ion or before the Jews
will gather home. Zion will be built
np by the gathering of the Saints
from all the nations and kingdoms of
the earth, Zion will ba built up, her
habitations will be reared, her Tem-
ple will be built and the glory of
God will rest upon them long before
these great events in connection with
the house of Israel will be fulfilled.
Hence there is a difference between
Zion and Jerusalem in the latter
days.
We will now read something more
about this Zion. Isaiah, as I have
already quoted in the second chapter,
has told us about the house of the
Lord, and the great that should
come, the beating of swords into
ploughshares, &e., and then he goes
on to portray the blessings that are
to come upon Zion, He says, f4 In
that day seven women shall taice hold
of one man, saying, We will eat our
own bread and wear our own apparel,
only let ns be called by thy name to
take away our reproach. In that day
shall the branch of the Lord be beau-
tiful and glorious, and the fruit of the
earth shall bo excellent and comely,"
Thus we see that Zion is to become
glorious. The branch of the Lord,
the branch of his own planting, es-
tablished by his own power, the build*
ing up of a people and city by his
own instructions and administration,
by the inspiration of his servants, the
establishing of Zion no more to be
thrown down. And the Lord will
create upon every dwelling place of
%Mount Zion and upon her assemblies
a cloud and smoke by day, and a
shining, flaming fire by night ; and
upon all the glory shall be a defence;
and there shall be a tabernacle for a
No. 23,
shadow in the day time from the
heat, and for a place of refuge and for
a covert from storm and from rain.
How often I have quoted this pas-
i sage! I am not tired of quoting it
I yet. It is among the great events of
the latter days ; it is among those
; marvels and wonders that are just at
hand. A Zion to be built up ; a city
: of Zion having habitations, and upon
these habitations a supernatural light
by night, and a supernatural cloud
by day, No such event has hap-
pened since this prophecy was uttered
, by the Prophet Isaiah, it remains to
be fulfilled in the latter days. No
wonder then that the Ljrd said to
Joseph Smith in the year 1831, that
I is, before we were a great people,
while we were only a few hundreds,
well did the Lord inspire him to say
that Zion should become great and
glorious and the day should come
that the nations of the earth should
tremble because of her, and should
| fear because of her terrible ones; for
the glory of God shall be there, and
the power of the Lord shall be there
when the day comes that the city of
Zion is clothed upon with the glori-
ous appendage that is herein pre-
dicted ; when the branch of the Lord
becomes beautiful and glorious, and
the fruit of the earth excellent and
comely, when that day shall come
that seven women shall take hold of
one man, saying, * We will eat our
| own bread and wear our own apparel,
only let us be called by thy name to
take away our reproach," when that
day shall come that the Lord God
shall show forth his power in Zion—
upon her Tabernacle, upon her Tem-
ple, her meeting places, her residen-
ces, palaces, towers, walls and gates,
when that day shall come it will as*
. tonish the nations even unto the ends
of the earth. Thus you see the rea-
son why the kings of the earth will
I go up to Zion. They would not m
Vol XIV.
JOURNAL OF
DISCOURSES,
if there was not something very ex-
traordinary happened. Do yon sop-
pose the kings would forsake their
thrones and their earthly glory and
go up to the mountain of the Lord to
be taught in his ways and instructed
in his paths, and that many nations
would say, u Come let us go up
to the house of the Lord/' if
there was not something very extra-
ordinary manifested in the midst of
Zion ? You might go and preach to
them, as the sectarians preach, until
you were greyheaded, and you could
scarcely get near the throne of a
king, much less would you be able to
persuade him to leave his kingdom
and throne and go np to Zion. But
when the Lord begins to move, and
show forth his power, when he be-
gins to light up the habitations of
Zion, when he comes to Zion to '
turn away ungodliness from Jacob,
then I think the rations will begin to
wake up-
Let us read a little more about the
glory of Zion in the 59th and <S0th
chapters of Isaiah. I told you a
little while ago that Jesus would
come to Ziou and would show forth his
glory there, while the Jews would be
reserved for a great chastisement
and would be afflicted by the nations
gathering against them, fighting
against them and taking half the city
captive, and so on. Now let me
read a prophecy in the latter part of
the 59th chapter of Isaiah. "So
shall they fear the name of the Lord
from the west, and his glory from the
rising of the sun. When the enemy
'shall come in like a flood the Spirit
of the Lord shall lift up a standard
against him, and the Redeemer shall
come to Zion and unto them that
turn from transgression in Jacob,
saith'tte Lord. As for me this is my
covenant with thee saith the Lord,
my spirit that is upon thee and my
words that I pat in thy mouth shall [
not depart out of thy mouth, nor out
of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of
the mouth of thy seed's seed saith the
Lord, from henceforth even for even
Arise and shine, for thy light is
come and the glory of the Lord is
risen upon thee/' You notice here,
then, that the Redeemer is to come
to Zion, at the time when every habi-
tation is lighted up with his light,
and to all that turn from trans-
gression in Jacob,
Now let me here remark that this
remnant of the house of Israel or
Jacob, which we term the American
Indians, are eventually to become a
righteous branch of the house of
Israel; when the times of the Gen-
tiles are fulfilled, thev will be imm-
bered among the people of the cove-
nant made with ancient Israel, they
will be a branch of the Lord, beauti-
ful and glorious, excellent and comely,
and the power of the Lord will be
upon them. In that day Jesus will
come to them, they being a remnant
of the tribe of Joseph. Then will be
fulfilled that which was predicted by
the Patriarch Jacob upon the deeen*
dants of Joseph. Speaking of Joseph +
he says, u Joseph is a fruitful bough, #
a fruitful bough by a well, whose
branches run over the wall. The
archers have sorely grieved him and
shot at him and hated him, but his
bow abode in strength, and the arms
of his hands were made strong by the
hands of the mighty God of Jacob,
from thence is the Shepherd, the
stone of Israel."
When Jesus comes to Zion as is
here predicted, in the 59th chapter of
Isaiah, he will come in the character
of a great shepherd. Not in the
clouds of heaven with power and
great : glory ; but appearing in the #
midst of Zion and administering to
the remnants of Joseph in the
character of a shepherd. From thence
is the shepherd, the stone of Israel*
ZION.
355
Now we all know that Jesus sprang
from J ml ah ; but here is a declaration
that from Joseph is the shepherd, the
stone of Israel. That is, he will
come the second time as a shepherd.
He will gather his flock, or as the
Psalmist David has said, "Give ear,
O Shepherd of Israel, thou that lead-
est Joseph like a flock, stir np thy
strength and come and save us." He
will came as a shepherd, he will stir
np his strength and show forth his
power and the remnant of Joseph
will be lead by their shepherd, long
before the Jews are redeemed. "Arise
and shine, for thy light is come, and
the glory of the Lord is risen upon
thee,"
What condition do you suppose
the wicked will be in in those days,
even all the inhabitants of the earth
except Zion ? 44 For behold dark-
ness shall cover the earth and gross
darkness the people; but the Lord
shall arise upon thee, and his glory
shall be seen upon thee," What a
difference between Zion and the rest
of mankind ! Darkness covering the
whole four quarters of the globe.
Wily darkness ? Because the salt
of the earth is gathered out; the
children of light are gathered to-
gether to Zion, and those who are
left behind are in darkness, that is, a
great many of them. No doubt there
will be honest ones, and vast numbers
who will come to Zion, notwithstand.
ing the darkness that covers the
earth.
We will read the next verse: " And
the Gentiles shall come to thy light
and kings to the brightness of thy
rising," "Thy gates shall be open
continually ; they shall not be shut
day nor night, that men may bring
uttto thee the forces of the Gentiles,
and that their kings may be brought,
for the nation and kingdom that will
not serve thee shall perish, yea, those
nations shall be utterly wasted,"
What ! no people or nation left that
will not serve Zion ? Not one.
What will become of this great re-
public with its forty millions of peo-
ple, and which is spreading forth
continually? If they will comply
with the ordinances of Zion, repent
of their sins and be prepared for this'
great and glorious day, God will save
them- but if they will not they will
be utterly wasted away. Thus have
the prophets declared. "The sons
also of them that afflicted thee, shall
come bending unto thee and shall
bow themselves down at the soles of
thy feet, and they shall call thee the
city of the Lord, the Zion of the
Holy Oae of Israel," Now here is l
little comfort to you miners: "For
brass I will bring Gold, for iron I
will bring silver, and for wood brass,
and for stones iron ; and I will make
thine officers peace and thine exactors
righteousness. Violence shall no
more be heard in thy land, wasting
nor destruction within thy borders."
"Wars will cease in those days.
The sun shall no more be thy light by
day, neither for brightness shall the
moon give light unto thee, but the
Lord shall be unto thee an ever-
lasting light, and thy God thy glory."
Zion will not need the sun when the
Lord is there, and all the city is
lighted up by the glory of his pre-
sence. When the whole heavens
above are illuminated by the presence
of his glory we shall not need those
bright luminaries of heaven to give
light, so far as the city of Zion is
concerned. But there will be a great
people round about, dwelling in other
cities that will still have need of the
light of the sun and the moon ; but
the great capital city where the Lord
will establish one of his thrones — for
his throne is not to be in JerusH^h,
alone, it will also be in Zion, as f&p',
will find in numerous places in this
Bible.. When therefore, he shall.
356 JOURNAL OF
establish his throne in Zion and shall
light up the habitations thereof with
the glory of his presence, they will
not need this light which comes from
the bright luminaries that shine forth
in yonder heavens, but they will be
clothed upon with the glory of their
God* When the people meet to-
gether in assemblies like this, in
their Tabernacles, the Lord will
DISCOUKSES.
meet with them, his glory will be
upon them ; a cloud will overshadow
them by day and if they happen to
have an evening meeting they will
not need gas light or lights of an
artificial nature, for the Lord will be
there and his glory will be upon all
their assemblies. So says Isaiah the
Prophet, and I believe it. Amen.
DISCOURSE BY ELDER JOHN TAYLOR,
Delivered
in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sgnday,
Maech 17, 1872.
o
(Reported by David W. Evans.)
o
CONTINUED REVELATION.
In rising to address the congrega-
tion this afternoon, I do so, as I al-
ways do, with very great pleasure.
It always affords me gratification to
contemplate the things pertaining to
the Church and kingdom of God,
and to the interests of humanity on
the earth. I love to speak of these
things, I am always pleased to hear
of them, and I am as willing to listen
to the troth when emanating from
Gome person else as I am to commu*
ziicate it to others, as it may be made
manifest to me. I feel as onr Elders
generally do — that we are seeking to
communicate— not onr own special
ideas, or any peculiar theory that we
may have entertained; bat, under
the guidance of the Almighty, that
we may instruct and teach as we may
be led and guided by the Spirit of
the living God. I feel, as if is ex*
pressed in the Scripture^ "That it i*
not in man to direct his steps," and
it is not especially in man to teach
things pertaining to eternity, or to
the everlasting welfare of the human
family, unless he be under the guid-
ance and direction of the Almighty,
and feels that he is simply an instru-
ment in His hands to unfold and de-
velop certain principles that are made
manifest unto him. I feel always
willing to hear, to teach, to receive
instruction, or to communicate unto
others those principles that are calcu-
lated to promote their happiness and
well-being in time and in eternity.
These things lie at the foundation of
the happiness of the human family ;
they emanate from God, our Father,
in whom, we are told, u we live anft
move and have our being/' and upon
whom we are dependant for all the
blessings we enjoy, whether they per-
tain to this world or the world to
CONTINUED REVELATION
357
come. Ignorant of all true principles
without inspiration from him, we
feel at all times that it is necessary
for os to be under his guidance and
direction, and to seek for the aid of
his Holy Spirit, that we may be led
and taught, instructed and directed
in all of our acts and associations in
life, that we may be prepared for nny
events that may transpire, associated
with the affairs of this world or rela-
tive to the world to come. We look
upon ourselves as eternal beings, and
that God is our Father. We are
told in the sacred record of truth that
he is the God and Father of the
spirits of ell flesh — of all flesh that
has lived, that now lives or that will
live; and it is proper that we should
have just conceptions of our relation-
ship to him, to each other, to the
world wherein we live, to those who
have existed before us, or to those
who shall come after us, that as wise,
intelligent beings, under the inspira-
tion of the Almighty, we may be
able to conduct our steps so that our
pathway in life may be such as to
secure the approval of a good con-
science and of God, angels and good
men; and that whilst we live upon
the earth we may fulfil in an hono-
rable manner the measure of our cre-
ation, and, obeying our Creator, feel
that he is indeed what the Scriptures
represent him to be, and what we
believe him to be — "the God and
Father of the spirits of all flesh,"
There is a feeling generally extant
in the world that God is a great and
august personage who is elevated so
high above the world, and is so far
separated from humanity that it is
impossible to approach him, and al-
though the Christian religion, under
whatever form it may be practised,
teaches mankind to pray unto God
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
yet it is very Jew who suppose that
their prayers amount to anything,
that God will listen to their suppli-
cations, or that they will prove of
any special benefit* A feeling of
this kind tends more or less to un-
belief instead of faith in God, and
hence we find very few men in our
day who act ns men of God did in
former days, that is, seek unto him
for guidance and direction in the
i affairs of life. If we examine what
is termed the sacred history of the
Bible, we shall find that in the vari-
ous ages of the world, until soon after
Christianity was introduced, there
was a feeling among men to call
upon God and to have their phiyers
answered — a feeling that if they would
approach the Most High and call
upon his name in faith, he would
answer their supplications and giw
unto them wisdom, intelligence and
revelation for the guidance of their
feet in the pathway of life; and it
was not based as it is now, generally,
upon some old theories, or upon com-
munications made unto others; but
if we trace the records of Scripture
through, we shall Kncl that men gene-
rally sought for themselves guidance
and direction and revelation adapted
to the |>eculiar circumstances in which
they were placed.
If we t<o baeJv to the time when
Adam first made his appearance on
the earth, the Lord God we are told
communicated with him, gave him
certain commandments, told him
what he should do and what he
should not do; and when he trans*
grossed the law, we are told that he
heard the foots tens of the Lord io
1
the garden, and lie heard his voice
speaking unto him, and when, at the
dictum of the Almighty, he was ex-
' pelled from the paradise in which he
lived, an angel was placed there an a
guardian to prevent his return.
From the accounts that we have in
0*1 r possession ot events that took
place soon after that time, we learn
358
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
that the Lord communicated his will
unto others, and there was a man
called Enoch, a very remarkable per-
sonage, whose history is very brief
indeed, considering the important
events that transpired during hia day.
We are told that he walked with
- God, had communication with him,
and that " He was not, for God took
hira," Our recent revelations give
us information pertaining to this
same man — that he gathered together
a people, that he taught them the
principles of (he Gospel, that he
gathered together all who would
listen to the principles of truth pre-
vious to the flood, and that he and
his city were translated, or as the ac-
count of the Bible says — u He was
cot, for God took him,"
i By and by another event trans*
pired. T he peopl e became excessi vely
wicked and corrupt, so much so, that,
as the Scriptures informs us, u Their
thoughts were only evil, and that
continually and in consequence of
this the Lord decreed that he would
destroy the people from the face of
the earth. But before he did it he
gave revelation unto Noah, telling
him that the destruction of all flesh
upon the earth had been decreed by
the Almighty in consequence of the
wickedness of the people ; and Noah
had special revelation given to him
adapted to the circumstances which
surrounded him, and the age in which
he lived. He was not told to build a
city, to preach the Gospel and gather
the people as Enoch had done; but
he was told that the wickedness of all
flesh had come up before the Almighty
and that he had determined to de-
stroy them with a flood ; and Noah,
believing in God and in the revelation
which he gave unto him, according
to the testimony of the Scriptures,
built an ark, and gathered into that
ark himself and wife, his sons and
their wives, and two — male and fe-
male— of the various kinds of beasts,
birds and creeping things that dwelt
on the face of the earth. History re-
cords the coming of the flood, the
destruction of the world by it, and the
preservation in the ark of those who
had listened to the word of God and to
whom he communicated his will.
Subsequent to this time a variety
of singular circumstances transpired
and there existed many prominent
characters both good and bad, wor-
shipers of God and worshipers of
idols* We find that after the re-
peopling of the earth after the flood
men set to work to build a tower,
and the Lord coc fused their lan-
guages and scattered them from
hence, throughout all the earth.
About this time a singular kind of
personage appeared on the stage of
action, named Abraham. He had
been taught by his father to worship
idols; but the Lord had manifested
himself to him on certain occasions
and instructed him in the true re-
ligion. He did not teach him as he
taught Enoch, or as he had taught
Noah; the circumstances of Abraham
were different from those of Knoch
and Noah, and if Abraham had the
history of their times, as he un-
questionably had, for Abraham was
contemporary with Noah and Noah
with Adam, and must have been
acquainted with the events which
had transpired, from the days of
Adam at least from information given
by Adam to Noah and by Noah to
himself, he would know that the re-
velations they received were not
applicable to his case, but he needed
revelation from God for his own
guidance and direction, that he might
be led aright, and that he might be
able to instruct his children after him
in the path they should tread, in
the principles, doctrines and ordin-
ances that should be according to the
mind and will of God.
CONTINUED REVELATION.
353
There is something humorous in a
history that we have iu relation to
this personage. The priests of those
days offered sacrifices to their gods,
and, like the priests of these days,
they were generally opposed to new
revelation from God. Abraham's
father had instructed him in the
doctrines of these idols, and had
sought to induce hi in to have faith in
them and in their power, authority,
and dominion, telling him what great
personages they were. But Abraham,
inspired by the Lord, went on a cer-
tain occasion into the temple of these
gods and smote them right and left,
upsetting aud breaking them in pieces.
His father came in and asked what
he had been cluing, what great sin
this was that he had committed, why
he was so sacrilegious in his feelings
and so wicked as to seek to destroy
these gods ? Said he, " Father, I did
not do anything to them, they quar-
reled among themselves and went to
work fighting and knocked one an-
other down, broke one another's
heads and knocked off one another's
arms and legs." "Oh," said his
father, fci my son do not tell me any-
thing of that kind, for they are made
of wood and they could not move or
stir from iheir place nor knock one
another down; it has been some
other agency that has done it," "Why,
father," said he, " would you worship
a being that could not stir or move,
that hail hands and could not handle,
that had legs and could not walk,
a month that could not speak, and a
head and it was of no use ? Would
you worship a being like that ? " But
nevertheless our history informs us
that the priests were angry and stir-
red up his father against him. But
the Lord inspired Abraham to leave
there. Tue Bible tells us the Lord
said to him : u Get thee up from thy
father's house, from the land wherein
thou wast barn, and go up to a land
I will show unto thee, and which I
will afterwards give unto thee for an
inheritance." And we are told that
"he went up, not knowing whither
he went,"
There is something very peculiar
about this little history, so far as we
have it in the Bible* I think I see
this man of God rising up, after he
had incurred the displeasure of the
priests and his father, and had slain
these gods, making preparations to
leave his native country. I fancy I
see some of his neighbors coming to
him, and saying: "Abraham, where
are you going ?" " Oh," says he, " I
do not know." " You don't know."
" No." " Well, who told you to go ? "
"The Lord." "And you do not
know where you are going ? " "Oh,
no," says he, "I am going to a hud
that he will show me, and that he has
promised to give me and my seed
after me for an inheritance; and I be-
lieve in God, and therefore I am
starting.1' There was something very
peculiar about it, almost as bad as us
when we started to come off from
JJauvoo : we hardly knew where we
were going, but we could not have
rest, peace or safety among the Chris-
tians, consequently we left them and
started off to the Rocky Mountains,
under the direction of God, hardly
knowing whither we wenf, just as
Abraham did, and I do not think we
were any bigger fools than he, for he
went just about as we did, not know-
ing whither he went.
Afterwards the Lord gave him a
son, for when he was an old man, and
his wife Sarah was seventy years old,
they were childless, and at this ad-
vanced age the Lord gave thern a
son. There had been no event of
that kind ever transpired before in
the history of the Bible, and if it
were the Bible they had to look at, it
would have been of no use to them,
for they could not get any ins true-
360 JOURNAL OP
tions there how they were to act;
but be feared God and put his trust
in him, and the Lord gave him reve-
lation. The angel of the Lord, we
are told, visited Abraham and his
wife, and told her she should have a
son. Sarah was a good deal amused
at it, and laughed over the matter,
for she was about seventy years old
and thought it rather strange that
she should have a son at that age,
and she laughed at the idea, as many
of nur old sisters tvould unquestion-
ably do now if they were told such a
thing. It seems all very natural
when you look at it just about as it
is. And when the angel asked her
why she laughed, she lied and said :
" I did not laugh/' she did not want
to have it known that she laughed at
what the Lord said. M Nay, but,"
said he, " thou didst laugh. " And as
the time came round, lo and behold
she had a son and called his name
Isaac. And after this the Lord
seemed determined to try Abraham
and see whether or not he would be
faitbful to him and obey him in all
things. He had obeyed him in
breaking up those Gods, and in leav-
ing his father's house and going up
to a land that he had shown unto
him, and the Lord was determined to
try him to the uttermost, and see
whether he would obey him yqt
further. "Now" said he, "Abra-
ham, take thy son, thine only son
Isaac, and go to a place that I will
indicate, and offer him up as a burnt
offering before me." That was a
curiosity, it had something odd and
strange about it. It was not really
what you would call philosophical; it
was not in accordance with any
principles that we could understand
anything about, in our day; and it
would have been difficult for Abra-
ham to have reasoned it out why he
should be called to offer op bis son as ,
a sacrifice. Nothing of the kind had
DISCOURSES.
ever transpired before as a precedent;
no such tiling wri tten in the Bible that
hnd taken place among men before. In
offering up his only son there was
some tiling very peculiar, not especi-
ally as a sacrifice, but it came in
contact with every parental feeling
which he must necessarily have felt
for his only child. This, in and of
itself, rendered it one of the most
severe and painful trials that could be
placed upon man ; but there was
something else connected with this
which was explained by the Prophet
Joseph Smith, who* when speaking of
these thing*, said God was determined
in these day* 10 have a tried people
as he had in former times, and that
he would feci after their heartstrings
and try them in every way possible
for them to be tried ; and if he
could have invented anything that
would have been more keen, acute,
and trying than that which he requir-
ed of Abraham he would have done
it. But that, no doubt, was one of
the greatest trials that could have
been inflicted on any human being.
Notice the old gentleman totteriig
along with his son, brooding over the
promises of God and the peculiar de-
mand now made upon him* Says
he: "Isaa*, let us go up into the
mountain here, and offer a sacrifice to
the Lord." And he took him along;
they ascend the mountain, they gather
together some rocks and together
build an alter; they gather the fuel
and place it on that alter; and when
everything is prepared Isaac says:
"Father, here is the altar and here is
the wood, but where is the sacrifice."
What would the feelings of a father
be under such circumstances ? Says
he, with a heart gushing with sorrow-
ful emotions, "My son, God will pre*
pare himself a sacrifice," and finally
the old man gave his son to under-
stand that he was the sacrifice, and
he bound him and placed him on the
CONTINUED REVELATION
361
wood upon the altar, and lifted the
knife to strike the fatal Mow, and
while liia arm was outstretched the
Lord spake, saying : " Abraham, lay
not thine hand upon the lad, for the
Lord shall provide th sacrifice/
and he looked round and found a ram
in a thicket, and he placed it on the
altar and offered a burnt offering be-
fore the Lord, The Lord then took
him aside and said: "Lift op thine eyes
eastward, westward, northward and
southward, for to theo and to thy seed
after thee will I give this land; and
thy seed shall be as numerous as the
stars in the heavens, and like the
sand on the sea shore so shall they be
innumerable; and in blessing I will
bless thee, and in multiplying I will
multiply thee, and in thee and in thy
seed shall all the families of the
earth be blessed," The Lord proved
him and found him faithful in all
things. That was a severe test to
human nature ; but there were other
ideas crowding on his raind that
were ten thousand times more formid-
able than these paternal feelings
which gnshed and welled up in his
bosom when told to offer up his son
as a sacrifice. What was it ? Why
the Lord had told him that he would
make of him a nation and a multitude
of nations, and that he should be the
father of many nations, and yet he
told him to go and offer up his only son.
And he was an old man and his wife an
old woman; and it was not only the
idea of taking the life of his son that
was crowding upon his mind, but the
cutting him off in, regard to posterity
and the promises that God had made
to him in regard to the magnitude of
the peoples that should arise from
him, or from his loins, and leaving
*him, as it were, a dry root, helpless,
hopeless, tottering on the grave with-
out any heir, Paul very justly re*
marks that in the midst of all these
things, "he staggei'ed not through
unbelief, but *as strong in faith
giving glory to God ; believing that
he from whom he had received himf
as it were fiom the deud, would be
able, if he had even slaughtered his
son, to raise him from the dead,""
He was strong in faith, says Paul,
" giving glory to God/1 He had had
the visions of his mind unfolded in
regard to the future ; he had
looked through the dark vista of fn-
ture ages. Inspired by the spirit of
revelation he contemplated the pur-
poses of God as they rolled forth in
all their majesty and glory and power,
and considered that he was to be one
of the great actors in this great
world drama that should be exhibited
in the after ages of time, and in the
eternities that were to come. Jesus
said of him, " Abraham saw ray dafy
and was glad.1* But he sow in this,
apparently, all his hopes blasted ; but
notwithstanding he had faith and
confidence in God, and he stood there
like the beaten anvil to the stroke, or
the sturdy oak defying all storms
and blasts and influences. He was
strong in faith, giving glory to God.
Nothing but the spirit of revelation
could have given him this confidence,,
and it was that which sustained him
under these peculiar circumstances.
He then told him that, by and by,
his seed should go down into bon-
dage in Egypt, and should remain
there four hundred years, and that
then they would be delivered* He
also made promises concerning his
posterity, telling him they should in-
herit that land ; and yet, singular to
say, notwithstanding these revela-
tions and promises from the Lord,
several thousand years after, when
Stephen was referring to these prom-
ises, he said "he gave him none inheri-
tance in it, no not so much as to set
his foot;" but he told him that he
would " give it to him, and to his seed
after him, for an everlasting inheri-
362
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
tance." And as we have to do with a
truthful God, and with eternal things,
we expect that these promises will be
literally fulfilled, and that God will
accomplish all things that he spoke
to him pertaining to his seed. But
there was one peculiarity about this
that I wish to notice in connection
with others— that when God gave re-
velations to the human family in the
different ages of the world it was
-particularly adapted to the circum-
stances in which they were placed.
They were not dependant, as Chris-
tians are now, simply on the Bible or
upon some old revelation, from which
they could learn many great things,
but they could not learn what was
necessary, what plan it was proper
for them to adopt under the peculiar cir-
cumstances in which they were placed.
We find, in continuing the history
of these things, that after the child-
ren of Israel had been iu Egypt for a
length of time, God sent them a de-
liverer— he raised up Moses and in-
spired him with the principle of reve-
lation, told him he had a work for
him to do, that he was to deliver
Israel from the bondage that had
been placed upon them by the Egyp-
tian kings, Moses shrank from the
responsibility, and told the Lord that
he was a " man of stammering tongue
and of slow speech,*' and that he was
not competent to perform a work of
such magnitude. The Lord told him
never to mind, it would be all right,
that he would provide a spokesman
for him in Aaron his brother, and
Aaron should be a mouthpiece to the
people, and Moses should be as a god
to Aaron and dictate him in the
course that he should take. And
this very Moses gives us an account
of all the histories that we have in
relation to the dealings of God with
the human family from Adam's day
until the time in which he lived.
There was something peculiar about
the mission that he had. He was
sent on several occasions to present
himself before the Egyptian king
with a message from the Lord that
he should let his people Israel go,
and in these various inecisages yon
will find, just as I stated before, the
revelations that he had were adapted
to the particular chcu instances he
was placed in. He was not told to
build a city as Enoch had been, and
to gather a people together to be
translated; he was not told to build
an a-k, as Noah did; he-was not
told to leave bis father's house and
■
go to a strange land, as Abraham
was ; he was placed in other circum-
j stances — he was going to be the de-
liverer of Israel from Egyptian bon-
dage, and to lead them to that land
which God had promised Abraham,
and consequently he had to have
direct communication with the Lord
I — revelation to guide him in the
course that he should pursue in the
work that he had to perforin. The
result was that after many revela-
tions he took Israel out of Egypt, he
brought thern into the wilderness, he
passed them through the Bed Sea,
and he went upon the mountain, con-
versed with God and received from
him tables of stone written by his
own hand for the guidance of the
people, and was under the direction
of the Almighty in all his moves*
He built an ark, not according to his
own judgment or wisdom, not accord-
ing to anything that he read of in
the Bible, nor according to any pre-
vious revelation or communication;
but the Lord told him to see " that
he made all things according to the
pattern that he had shown him in
the mount," and he did so. And the
people traveled on through that wil-
derness, and wera there for forty
years, a pillar of fire leading them by
night and a cloud by day ; and when
that pillar of fire or cloud rested they
CONTINUED REVELATION.
363
rested, when it lifted op they moved,
and followed its guidance. And
Aaron went and ministered in the
Tabernacle and approached before the
Holy of Holies, and all these sayings,
doings and events that then tran-
spired were tinder the immediate
revelation, dictation and guidance of
the Almighty. The Lord at that
time desired to make of Israel a
great nation, a kingdom of priests.
They had the Gospel preached unto
them in the wilderness, so Paul tells
as, but they were rebellious, waj--
ward and stiffnecked. It was the
design of the Almighty to lead them
into the presence of God, that they
might see hira as Moses did, and as
the seventy Elders of Israel did, that
they might converse with him and
obtain intelligence from him, and be
under his special guidance and direc-
tion ; but they could not endure the
Gospel, and therefore we are told
" the law was added because of trans-
gression," What was it added to?
Why, to the Gospel. What was the
G ospe 1 ? Apr i nci pie of revel a t io n ; i t
always was. It was the same Gos-
pel that Jesus had that was revealed
to them. Tlie Scriptures tell us that
it * brings lite and immortality to
light ;" and whenever in any age of
the world men had a knowledge of
life and immortality, of the purposes
of God and his future designs, and
of the future estate of mankind, it
came through the Gospel, for it is
the Gospel that brings life and im-
mortality to light; and wherever the
Gospel exists, there exists a know-
ledge of life and immortality; and
wherever a kno^ ledge of life and im-
mortality does not exist the Gospel
does not exist* The children of Is-
rael, then, were placed under the law
— a schoolmaster, we are told, **a
yoke that neither they nor their fa-
thers were able to bear." This Peter
tells us.
Then there were other Prophets
after Moses appeared on the stage,
such as Job, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah,
Jeremiah and many others, who had
communication with God and received
a knowledge of his will and purposes,
and prophesied under the inspiration
of the Almighty and testified of
events that should afterwards tran-
spire. To these men we are indebted
for the Bible, that is, for the Old and
Kew Testaments ; to them and their
revelations, to the communications
that they had, the ministering of
angels and the opening visions, and
the unfolding of the purposes of God,
and the various histories and dealings
of God with the people : to them are
we indebted for the Bible that we
Christians of the present day talk so
much about. To these men who
made this Bible we are indebted for
any knowledge that they had about
God; and that Gospel, we are told,
brings life and immortality to light.
We are now sometimes told by
people here, at this present day, that
we have the Bible to go by. Indeed ?
We have the Bible, have we ? Yes.
Who made that Bible? Did the
Christians ? No, they did not. The
early Christians had something to do
with making the Now Testament
Scriptures, but not the Old Testa-
ment ; and then, as I have told you
heretofore, these men always had
revelation given them adapted to the
peculiar circumstances in which they
were placed. But you read the Bible
through, and you will find that the
Scriptures that are given to us are
simply an account of revelations,
communications, prophecies and the
ministering of any els, and the power
of God made manifest to the ancient
people of God who had the Gospel.
What! do you mean to say, then,
that all these men had the Gospel ?
I most assuredly do, for without that
they could not have had a knowledge
364
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
of life and immortality. Did Abra-
ham have it? Yes, if Paul told the
truth, he did. What does he mean
when he says, "God, foreseeing that
he would justify the heathen through
faith, preached before the Gospel
unto Abraham?" What does he
mean when lie tells us about Moses
and the children of Israel ? Says
he: " We have the Gospel preached
unto us as well as they; but the
word preached unto them did not
profit them, not being mixed with
faith in those who heard it ; where-
fore the law was added because of
transgression." What was it added
to? Why, to tho Gospel, for they
had the Gospel before, and the law
was added not as a peculiar kind of a
blessing that some people speak of,
but as a peculiar kind of a curse —
the law of can ml commandments —
u a yoke that we nor our fathers were
able to bear/' And when Jesus
came, what did he bring? Why,
the Gospel, and with that Gospel
light and revelation and communica-
tion with God, and ministering of
angels and the gifts of tongues and
healing and prophecy, and the power
of God made manifest among the
people as it was in former times.
Life and immortality were again
brought to light, the heavens were
again unveiled, angels ministered to
man, and they had a knowledge of
things to come. The law was added
because of transgression, and when
the Gospel came, it came not to do
away with the law or the Prophets,
but to fulfil them. It was not a law
of carnal commandments and ordi-
nances, but '* the law of the spirit of
life in Christ Jesus, which makes us
free from the law of sin and death ;**
the law of the Gospel whereby men
were adopted into the family of God,
and became " heirs of God and joint-
heirs with Jesus Christ," that u if we
suffer with him," as he once said,
*( we shall also reign with him, that
both may be glorified together/* It
was a thing that adopted them into
Hie family of God, and made them
heirs of God aud joint -heira with
Christ his Son, and one of the prin-
ciples of eternal life, and like all
other revelations, was adapted pecu-
liarly to the position that they then
occupied. It was culled the Gospel,
and there was a Priesthood connected
with it, and what was that called ?
Why, the Melchizedec Priesthood ?
What did the Metchizedec Priesthood
do ? It held the keys of the myste-
ries of the revelations of God. And
who was Christ ? He was a Priest
forever after the order of Melchize-
dec. And what did he introduce?
The Gospel. And who was Melcbi-
zedec? A man that blessed Abra-
ham we are told, and to whom Abra-
ham paid tithes of all that lie posses-
sed ; and Paul tells us that, ** Verily
the less is blessed of the greater,"
and this Melchizedec was greater
than Abraham was, although Abra-
ham was the father of the faithful.
What kind of a thing did Jesus in-
troduce when he came? Be intro-
duced the Gospel ; he had the Priest-
hood after the order of Melchizedec.
What did Melchizedec have ? Why,
the Priesthood after the order of the
Son of God , i f you please. 1 f Christ's
Priesthood was after his order, the
Melchizedec Priesthood most be after
the order of the Son of God, And
if Christ introduced the Gospel, Mel-
chizedec had the Gospel, and Melchi-
zedec blessed Abraham, and he had
the Gospel preached to him, so says
the Bible that the Christian profess
to believe in. j
Well, then, if this has been the
way of God's dealing with the human
family in all ages, it would seem tlat
he would continue to deal with rmn
on the same principle now,
John the Revclator speaks of a
CONTINUED
time when " an angel should fly in
the midst of heaven, having the
everlasting Gospel to preach to those
who dwell on the face of the earth,
and to every nation, kindred, tongue
and people, crying with a loud voice,
Pear God and give glory to hira, for
the hour of his judgment is come."
Who was it that saw this ? Why
John, on the Isle of Patraos. But
did'nt he have the Gospel ? Yee.
But he saw that a certain power
would arise that would make war
against the Saints and overcome
them, that they should be given into
the hands of this power to a certain
time. Then he tells us afterwards
that, after all these events should
have transpired, and all the apostacy
and the rising of fil Mystery Babylon,"
the "Mother of Harlots," and the
abominations that should exist on
the face of the earth, says he, ** I
saw another angel flying in the midst
of heaven having the everlasting Gos-
pel to preach to them that dwell on
the face of the earth." What do you
mean by the everlasting Gospel?
Why, the same Gospel that Jesus
taught, the same Gospel that Abra-
ham, Moses, Enoch and Adam had- —
that everlasting, eternal, unchange-
able principle that brings men into
relationship with their God, unveils
the heavens and the purposes of God
to the human family, and leads them
in the paths of life. u I saw another
angel flying through the midst of
heaven having the everlasting Gospel
to preach unto those who dwell on
earth, to every nation, kindred,
tongue and people, crying with a
loud voice, Fear God and give glory
to him, for the hour of his judgment
ia come, and worship him that made
the heaven, the earth, the seas, and
the fountains of water/1 This was
the declaration of John,
Now, then, an event like this was
to transpire; the everlasting Gospel
REVELATION, "365
was again to be introduced to man
upon the earth. Joseph Smith came
forward telling us that an angel had
administered to him, and had revealed
unto him the principles of the Gos-
pel as they existed in former days,
and that God was going to set his
; hand to work in these last days to
accomplish his purposes and build up
his kingdom, to introduce correct
principles, to overturn error, evil,
and corruption, and to establish bia
Church and kingdom upon the earth.
I have heard him talk about these
things myself. I have heard him
tell over and over again, to myself
and others, the circumstances per-
taining to these visions and the vari-
ous ministrations of angels, and the
development of the purposes of God
towards the human family. And
what does he do ? Bring us some-
thing different ? Yes, ia many re-
, spects, but not different in regard to
our connection with God. Different
as regards the age in which we live
and the circumstances with which he
was surrounded, but not different as
it regards bringing men to a know-
ledge of God. He taught precisely
the same principles and doctrine and
ordinances that were taught by Jesus
and his disciples in their day. He
organized Apostles; be had Prophets
in his Church* He told them that
inasmuch as they would do right and
keep his commandments, they should
have the gift of the Holy Ghost, He
led them forth and baptized them,
just as John and the disciples of
Jesus did. He baptized them in the
name of Jesus for the remission of
their sins, and told them they should
receive the Holy Ghost, He orga-
nized his Church precisely upon those
principles ; but it was a different dis-
pensation— " the dispensation of the
fulness of times, when God would
gather together all things in one/*
prophesied of by Paul; when his
JOURNAL OF DISCOUKSE&
people should be gathered, as the
Scriptures say, from the east, the
west, the north and the south ; when
he would take "one of a city and
two of a family and bring them to
Zion and give them pastors after his
own heart, that could feed them with
knowledge and understanding" It
was a dispensation to prepare the
people for the events that should
transpire on the face of the earth,
that they might no longer be led
astray by the cunning craftiness of
men whereby they lie in wait to de-
ceive, but be led by the spirit of
revelation and brought into commu-
nication with God. Hence the peo-
ple that I see before me to-day — the
major part of this congregation and
the people that inhabit this Terri-
tory, have been brought together
under these auspices, by the preach-
ing of the everlasting Gospel, by
being baptized in the name of Jesus
for the remission of sins, having
hands laid on them for the reception
of the Holy Ghost ; and they have
received of that Spirit, and they
know fur themselves of the truth
that they have received, and conse-
quently tbey cannot be twisted about
by every wind of doctrine. They
know and appreciate the truths they
have received, and they have faith in
God, f6r the Gospel they have obeyed
leads them to a knowledge of God,
whom to know is life everlasting.
Now this is the position ; it is just
the same as they had in former days.
The Gospel that they had in any age
of the world was to lead men to God ;
the Gospel that we have, and that we
have taught to yon, is to lead you to
God, to righteousness, to virtue,
purity, integrity, to honor, to reve-
lation, to a knowledge of the ways of
God, and of his purposes pertaining
to you and your families, to your
progenitors and your posterity • per-
taining to this world and that which
is to come. It is a revelation adapted
peculiarly to the position that we
occupy in these last days. How very
remarkable many Scriptures are on
these points,'4 1 will take one of a
city and two of a family." And
what will you do with them ? ** I
will bring them to Zion.*' And
what will you do with them there?
u I will give them pastors after my
own heart that shall feed them with
knowledge and understanding/* Not
with theories, ideas aud uncertainties;
not with the dogmas of men, but
with the knowledge of God, with re-
velation, with an understanding of
the principles of eternal truth. And
this is why we are assembled here as
we are on the present occasion.
What shall we do then? We will
live our religion and keep the com-
mandments of God. Cultivate the
spirit of revelation that you have
then, as the Scriptures said formerly,
4t As many as are led by the Spirit of
God are the sons of God," Another
passage, in speaking of certain indi-
viduals, tells them that they have re-
ceived an unction from the Holy One^
and they know all things, being in-
structed and taught by the Spirit of
eternal truth. This is what the
Bible speaks of in former times.
" And ye need not," says he, u that
any man should teach you, save the
Anointing that is within you, which
is true and no lie." Let men feel
the anointing of the Spirit of the
Lord and that Spirit will lead them
into all truth, will bring things
past to their remembrance and it will
show them things to come, aa it did
in former times/ ^
£l remember Joseph Smith speak-
ing to me upwards of thirty years
ago. Says he; "Brother Taylor,
you have received the Holy Ghost.
Now follow its teachings and instruc-
tions. Sometimes it may lead you
in a manner that may be contrary A •*
CONTINUED
O most to your judgment; never mind,
) follow its teachings, and if you do so,
by and by it will become in you a
principle of revelation, so that you will
{know all things as they transpire." ^
How docs that agree with the other
— * You have received an unction
from the Holy One and know all ,
things, and need not that any man 1
should tench you, save the Anointing
which is within you, which is true
and no lie?"
We have been taught and instruc-
ted in many principles that the
world know nothing about, and
that we know nothing about, and
that Brother Young knew nothing
about, nor Brother Joseph, nor the
Twelve, that nobody knew anything
about until God communicated it ;
and you, under the influence of that
Spirit, know of a truth and rejoice in
the truth, and the truth lias made you
free; and when you hear men talk-
ing about how bad they feel for you
because of your fanaticism, what do you
feel liki ? Say you ; " Poor things,
yon do not know what you are doing.
Preserve your pity for yourselves and
your children ; keep your high, cx-
altetj notions, if you have any, for
we are satisfied with ourselves and
our principles. We know in whom
we have believed, and no power can
overturn us. We have been baptized
into one baptism, we have partaken ,
of the same spirit ; we are all built I
REVELATION* 367
up together in the faith of the ever-
lasting Gospel, and our progress is
onward, onward, onward, until the
kingdoms of this world shall become
the kingdoms of our God and his
Christ, and he will reign with uni-
versal empire, until error and folly,
and vanity and corruption, and wick-
edness of every kind will fail and
dissolve before the rays of eternal
truth which God has revealed, and in
which he will continue to reveal, until
the Kingdom of God shall prevail and
extend throughout the wide world.
We are happy we live, and we rejoice
in the blessings that we have re-
ceived, and we pray our Heavenly
Father to keep us faithful
'' I will tell you the ouly thing I am
afraid of about the Saints is that they
will forget their God and that they
will not live their religion ; then
again I have not that fear, because I
know the generality of them will, I
know this kingdom will not be given
into the hands of another people. I
know that it will continue to progress
and continue to increase in spite of all
the powers of the adversary, in spite
of every inflnence that exists now, or
that ever will exist on the face of this
wide earth, God is our God, and he
will bring off Israel triumphant
May God help us to be faithful and
! to keep his commandments, in the
name of Jesus, Amen.
363
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES,
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT GEORGE A SMITHf
Delivered nr the New Taberkaci,e, Salt Lake City, Satukday Mobnlnq,
Aped, 6th, 1872,
(Reported by David W. Evans.)
PERSECUTION — TEMPLES — CO-OPERATION,
Owing to a spirit of persecution
and religious bigotry, alike disgrace-
ful to the age, the enlightenment of
the present generation and the nation
in which we live, our First President
is. not permitted to be with usT
Wliile we regret such a state of
affairs, we rejoice in the many liber-
ties, privileges, blessings and powers
which are extended unto us* It is
not by any means strange that, while
the world has been plunged in igno-
rance upon matters of religion and
morality, and broken up into factions,
on the appearance in the midst of the
whole, of a small body of men, illiter-
ate in their character, proclaiming to
the world that they are inspired of
the Lord, and undertake to introduce
system and principles calculated to
elevate mankind from degredation
and destruction, and exalt them to
eternal glory and endless increase,
they should be misunderstood; it has
been so in all ages of the world.
When our Savior visited the earth
bringing the simple principles of sal-
ration, he was misunderstood, mis-
apprehended, persecuted, imprisoned,
crowned with thorns, tortured, as a
man who was opposed to the religion
of the age, and dangerous to the
State. He was accused of a great
variety of crimes, of being a pestilent
fellow, and was finally put to death
by a class of men a great number of
whom were zealous professors of re-
ligion— ciders, high priests, rabbis,
doctors of the law and others claiming
to be exceedingly holy, Jesus, in re-
ferring to the history of the past, said
that the fathers of those who perse-
cuted him had slain the prophets, and
such was the case ; and we find that,
in every age, when God inspired a
man to proclaim the Gospel of salva-
tion, all, or a large portion of man-
kind, were ready to denounce him
and put him to death, to whip, im-
prison, annoy, lie about him, pro*
claim all manner of evil against him,
and so on, until his influence should
be annihilated from the earth. The
same principle still exists, and the
Latter-day Saints have had to con-
tend with it When Joseph Smith,
in 1830, organized the Church with
six members, the war as it were com*
menced ; a few hours only had passed
away when he was arrested, taken be-
fore a magistrate and accused of pro-
phesying* He was discharged, arres-
ted again, taken before another magis-
trate, and finally a declaration was
made that if the law could not reach
him tar and feathers and mob poweia
should. This is a very poor argument
and shows the weakness of those who
have recourse to it
We live in an age of science, in an
PERSECUTION', ETC*
36 D
age when intelligence is being de-
veloped in a great many directions,
and when the learning of man is
vastly extended. The Apostle Paul
cautioned the Saints in his day to be-
ware lest any spoil them through
philosophy and vain deceit j yet (he
religion of Jesus Christ embraces
every true and perfect principle,
every correct science, every principle
of philosophy — that is every true
principle, and is calculated to benefit
mankind in every way; and yet the
laws of life as revealed, explained and
developed in the organization of the
human family are trampled tinder
foot and very little understood- God 1
has commenced a work in these last
days to elevate mankind, to save them,
to increase them, to place them on a
footing of independence; to cause
them to love one another and to lay
a foundation for peace and harmony,
that bloodshed and war, contention
and devastation shall cease; that the
power oE the oppressor shall be bro-
ken and that the honest in heart may
have the privilege of dwelling to-
gether and building up Zion in all
the ear tli, and of continuing the
blessings and ordinances of exaltation
for time and thronghout all eternity.
There is no doubt but Satan stirs
up the hearts of the children of men
to disobedience and to war against
the principles of righteousness ; but
they are true. Joseph Smith was a
Prophet of God, he was a minister of
the Most High ; he brought forth
pure and holy principles, principles
which are calculated to savo and exalt
mankind. He was slain, and those
who received his testimony were rob-
bed of all they possessed and driven
into the wilderness under the influ-
ence of religious fanaticism and
bigotry, which apprehended nothing
but their utter destruction. God pre-
served them, blessed them, and they
spread abroad in the midst of these
No. 24.
valleys; they converted the desert
into fruitful fields, and laid a foun-
dation for the redemption of the hu-
man race, and thank God for these
privileges.
We want while we are here at Con-
ference, to have our brethren collect
in their minds — that is, leave their
business out of doors. It is a good
time to come to Conference, a splen-
did time to do business and all that ;
but while the hours of Conference are
on, let us come to meeting, give strict
attention to what is said and done,
and call upon God in mighty prayer,
that he will deliver Ziou from her op-
pressors ; that he will bless the efforts
of his servants for the advancement
of his work; that he will bless the
Missionaries that are sent abroad, and
those who are abroad among the na-
tions, and the missions of the native
elders in the various counties; that he
will open the way that the poor may
be gathered. And, by the way, while
we are doing this?, let as reflect bow
much we can do to aid the Perpetual
Emigration Fund, in bringing home
the Poor, Many of them have been
scattered among the nations half a
generation and more, and they are
unable to gather home. Think of
these things. Pray the Lord to give
his servants wisdom ; pray the Lord
to strengthen the President of the
Church — Brlgham Young, heal his
body, make him strong, sound and
heal thy, deliver him from the power of
the oppressor and those who seek to
destroy him, that he may have wis-
dom, intelligence and power to preach
to and teach the Saints, and to counsel
■ and guide the aGairs of the great
work which God has entrusted to him.
Let us devote a few days, as the case
may be, to counsel, to instruction, to
bearing testimony, to acquiring a
knowledge of the things of God,
' speaking of those things that are for
the welfare of Zion; taking counsel
Vol. XIV.
370 JOURNAL OF
together as to the best coarse to pur-
sue on the various subjects that are
before us — forwarding the building of
Temples, &c.
After last Conference President
Young and myself made a journey to
St* George. His health was very
poor and he was quite feeble when be
left here. When he reached that
mild climate, or rather, that even,
dry climate, he seemed immediately
to commence to recruit, and while we
remained there — we were absent
about ten weeks — he improved very
much; but in consequence of the
persecution which was inaugurated
against the Latter-day Saints, aiming
at him directly, it became necessary
for him to return in the midst of a
very cold and stormy season, and very
muddy roads. While at St George
he selected a spot, laid out the foun-
dation and dedicated the ground and
made a commencement, to build a
temple, which is being continued un- 1
der the direction of President Eras i us
Snow,ithat the ordinances of the holy
priesthood, which should be ad-
ministered only in a Temple, may be
attended to in that part of the Terri-
tory, in the neighborhood and vicinity
of those settlements,
m
Our brethren can observe that a
very handsome addition has been '
made to the foundation of the Temple
here since the last Annual Conference,
and tbey can now begin to form some
idea of how the work is going to look, ,
When you realize that all the granite
that is in that immense foundation
has been hauled some seventeen miles
with oxen, mu]es and horses, you
must realize that a very great job has
been accomplished. But at the pre-
sent time we have a railroad almost
into the quarry, and the result is that
the labor has been greatly lessened,
and the rock and the sand and other
building material can be brought here
at vastly less expense than formerly,
DISCOURSES,
and consequently we will be able to
push the work forward more rapidly.
We want the brethren and sisters —
all of them, to feel an interest in the
tithes and offerings lor the Temple,
| and in the labor upon it.
All must be aware that consider-
able expense and a great deal of time
| and disarrangement of business has
been caused by the persecutions and
prosecutions of the last year. But we
are very glad that Co-operative As-
sociations for mercantile, manufactur-
ing, agricultural, grazing and other
purposes that have been forming ia
this City and throughout this Terri-
tory for several years past, have
proved hi an eminent degree success-
ful, manifesting what wonderful re-
sults can be accomplished by the Lat-
ter-day Saints when united in the
exercise of their several duties and, in
the performance of their labors. The
want of unity and organization causes
the loss of a good deal of time, and
hence the necessity of organization
aud united efforts.
The ladies relief societies in all the
several settlements wherever they
have existed have also been in many
respects highly successful, and great
blessings to the community — looking
after the poor and introducing im-
provements, encouraging aud enabling
women to take charge of branches of
business that are suited to their
strength, knowledge and condition.
It always did seem to me ridiculous
to see a man six feet two and weigh-
ing two hundred and twenty measur-
ing tape or ribbons in a store ; and I
shall be very thankful when I can see
changes effected to such an extent
that nimble fingers, suited to handle
light goods will be permitted to fol-
low that kind of employment, and so
on throughout the whole organization
of society. Let those great big men
go and dig the rock, handle the saw
log, or do something that their
4
1
OUR SCHOOLS,
371
strength was made for, and not lefc
their giant power wilt away in the
shadow of a store. However these
are things yet to come. It is not my
design to offer many remarks, but
merely as an introduction to the con-
ference, to express my faith. I
know that this is the work of God,
and that all the efforts of wicked men
to trample it under foot will be vain.
I know the Lord has commenced his
great work of the latter days, and that
lion will triumph. This is my testi-
timony. I am not talking what I
guess at, what I imagine or what I
think, but what I verily know — God
has revealed it unto me. Brethren,
if you have not this knowledge within
yourselves, seek it of the Lord by
obedience to his laws, by observing
his counsel, by walking in his ordi*
nances, by laboring for the upbuilding
of Zion,and you will obtain it, and it
will be like a well of water springing
up in your hearts unto everlasting
life.
May the blessing of Israel's God
be and abide upon you for ever and
ever. Amen.
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT GEORGE A, SMITH,
Delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Monday Murnino
April 8th, 1872,
(Reported by David W, Evans.)
OUR SCHOOLS,
I am gratified in the enjoyment of
the privilege of continuing our Con-
ference, and rejoice in the instructions
find testimonies of the Elders which
have been given during the two days
past. There are a few subjects I
feel anxious to lay before the bre-
thren and sisters. I should be glad,
had I strength and opportunity, to
explain many things more minutely.
I feel that God is with us, but that a
great and fearful responsibility rests
upon our beads. In order that we
may be prepared to enjoy the bles-
sings of our high and holy calling
we should be diligent, humble, faith-
ful, and constantly unite our powers
of mind to magnify our Priesthood.
One great responsibility which rests
upon us is the education of our chil-
dren— the proper forming of their
minds and understandings, not only
in the ordinary branches of educa-
tion, but in the principles of our holy
religion.
1 understand from the reports of
Mr. Robert L, Campbell, Superin-
tendent of common schools for the
Territory, that there are about thirty
thousand school children in the Ter-
ritory, between the ages of four and
sixteen.
Oar golden browed neighbors here
in Nevada, who have for several
years enjoyed all the benefits and
blessings accruing to common schools
JOURNAL OF
DISCOURSES
from a State government, have about
four thousand, if I am rightly in-
formed, and no doubt, with the means
which they possess, they are enabled
to get up excellent schools.
It appears to be a portion of the
policy of the national government
never to do anything for schools in
a Territory, When a Territory be-
comes a State, the policy of Congress,
in years past, and it will probably
continue to be so in years to come,
baa been to extend liberal privileges
and immunities, in the donation of
lands and of the per cents from the
sales of public lands within the State
for educational purposes — the sup-
port of common schools and uni-
versities. This parsimonious policy
towards Territories may be an en-
lightened one, and it may not ; hav*
ing lived in a Territory most of my
life I may not be considered a proper
judge. Suffice it to say, however,
that so far as legislation for educa-
tion is concerned, or any encourage-
ment or assistance extended from the
United States to the people of the
Territories, their children must be
raised in absolute ignorance. The
result is, that whatever progress is
made or improvement attained in
these directions in the Territories is
due entirely to the energy, enterprise
and enlightenment of the inhabitants
— the hardy pioneers who break the
ground, make the roads, fight the
Indians and create the State.
'f he report of the Superintendent
of Common Schools for this Terri-
tory goes to show, not only that
there are about thirty thousand
school children, but that they have
attended school a greater portion of
t he time than is sometimes reported
in the new States, and in some of
the older ones, where they have all
the advantages granted by the gene-
ral k government This speaks well
for the pioneers of Utah; it is a
proud record, and one of which the
Latter-day Saints may justly boast
It is true that most of our schools
are simply primary schools; bat,
from what I have seen while visiting
a good many of them, I know they
are vastly superior to schools which
I attended, more or less, in my earlier
years in other States and Territories,
I am proud of these facts ; but at
the same time there is a great deal
in our system that is not by any
means up to the mark. All that has
been done has been done voluntarily.
The school laws of Utah Territory
authorize districts to establish free
schools, if they choose to do so, by a
; two-thirds vote of the inhabitants of
the district, and a number of districts
have adopted this system with satis-
factory results. Otherwise the schools
are sustained by the tuition fees of
the pupils, with the exception that
taxes are generally levied on the
property in the school districts to
assist to build school houses and to
supply a portion of the expenses and
extend some little aid to the more
indigent, that all may have the privi-
lege of going to school. A general
free school system has not been inau-
gurated, and any man who will
coolly, deliberately and wisely con-
sider the condition, associations and
changeable nature of the government
of our Territory, will see the wisdom
of not entering upon such a system
until it can be done under the regu-
lations and privileges which a State
j government would bring. At least,
that is my judgment on the subject,
though we have advocates for tho
establishment of a general free school
system now. I want to say in rela-
tion to this, that perhaps there are
counties where such a system might
be adopted with advantage ; but if it
were adopted generally throughout
the Territory, it would have to con-
tend with difficulties and dangers
OUR SCHOOLS.
373
which I would wish to avoid. As I
am not here to deliver a political
speech I shall not, ot course, under-
take to explain what these are. I
will simply refer you to certain little
difficulties that have occurred in
neigh boring States in relation to the
handling of school funds, and other
important items, which show the deli-
cacy of these matters unless they are
in the hands of the most reliable
men, who are absolutely responsible
to the people by whom they are ap-
pointed and elected.
I feel satisfied, notwithstanding
this good record, that there is a very
great necessity for the minds of many
people to he stirred up in relation to
the education of their children, the
building of good, healthy, well venti-
lated school- houses, and the sending
of the children to school, providing
suitable books and seats. I remem-
ber once, in a new country, going
into a school-house, and finding the
children packed almost like herrings
in a box, some on the floor, some on
seate, little fellows with short legs
sitting on high benches, and all
breathing air that, perhaps, might
not inaptly be compared to that of
the black-hole of Calcutta. A couple
of men, ignorant even of the raosts
simple principles of ventilation, were
laboring to teach these children, and
I have sometimes taken the liberty to
carry a carpenter's saw into a school
to saw off the legs of the l>enches to
make them a proper height to cor-
respond with the length of the child-
ren's legs, for I do despise the idea of
putting small children upon a high
bench and large children upon a low
one. I am very toad of seeing
straight, erect, well formed boys and
girls, and in three months a little in-
attention on the part of teachers,
trustees, and school superintendents,
in matters of this kind, will crook the
necks, crook the backs, weaken the
stomachs, produce deformity, lay a
foundation for consumption, and
shorten the children's lives ten years.
I suggest to the brethren from all
parts of the Territory — go into your
school-rooms, measure the children's
legs, if you please, and the benches,
and see how they correspond. See
whether the little fellows sit up
straight, or humped up as if they
were trying to imitate the buck of a
camel or dromedary, and give parti-
cular attention to the manner in
which the school-rooms are ventila-
ted. Do not deprive the little fel-
lows of the most necessary and the
cheapest of all elements — atmospheric
air, in its purity, and thereby sow in
their systems the seeds of premature
death.
There are many persons come into
the Territory who do not speak the
English language. I think more in-
stitutions should be got up in all the
neighborhoods to encourage the learn-
ing of our tongue. I know young peo-
ple generally learn it pretty quickly ;
but as the laws and most of the pub-
lic speeches are made in the English
language, it is important even in
Welsh, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian,
German and French settlement^ that
the language in which law ami jus-
tice are administered, and in which
public meetings are generally con-
ducted, should be well and properly
understood.
It occurs not only with some of
the foreign emigration, but with
some other persons, that they fail to
appreciate the necessity of education,
and of sending their children to
school. Good and wholesome in-
fluences, exercised through teachers,
Elders and Bishops, should be brought
to bear on all this class of people, to
show them the importance of educa-
ting their children, There are El
ders who seem willing and ready to
take missions to the most distant
374 JOURNAL OF
foreign coon tries, but when they are
invited to go into a school-room to
teach a school, they will say, " Well,
I can make more money at some*
thing else, I would rather be laud
speculating, go a lumbering, or set
np merchandizing/* Let me say to
you, brethren, that there is no calling
in which a missionary can do more
good, either man or woman, than to
teach a common school, if he or she
is qualified to do so.
We are very well aware that it is
but little use to whip u Mormon "
children. You undertake to thrash
anything into them, and you will
most surely thrash it out of them.
It was never any use to undertake to
drive or coerce Latter-day Saints,
they never could be coerced in their
religious faith or practice. It is not
their nature, and the mountain air our
children breathe inspires them with
the idea that they are not to be
whipped like dogs to make them
learn. The manner in which it must
be done is by moral suasion, superior
intellect, wisdom, prudence and good
straightforward management in form-
ing the judgment of the pupil by cul-
tivating his manly qualities. This
principle should be curried out in all
our schools* In my boyhood discip-
line was enforced by the application
of the blue beech switch. The blue
beech does not grow in this country,
but many school -masters in former
times in New York and New England
were provided with these tough lim-
ber switches, and I have seen them
used among the scholars with fearful
effect, and in cases where I am satis-
fied the pupil was less at fault than
the preceptor. I know they say
Solomon declared if you spare the
rod you will spoil the child. My
opinion is that the use of the rod is
very frequently the result of a want of
understanding on the part of a spoiled
parent or teacher in guiding, direct -
DISCOURSES.
ing and controlling the feelings and
affections of children, though of course
the use of the rod in some cases
might be necessary ; but I have seen
children abused when they ought not
to have been, because King Solomon
is believed to have made that remark,
which, if he did, in nine cases out of
ten referred to mental rather than
physical correction. I will, how*
ever, allow other men who have
taught school, as a profession, to
offer their suggestions on these sub-
jects; but I will say that I have known
Professor Dusenberry teach a hun-
dred scholars — the wildest, roughest
boys we had in a frontier town, and
never lay a stick on one of them. He
has done it term after term, and the
children liked and respected him and
would mind him, and there was no-
thing on the face of the earth that
seemed to hurt their feelings more
than to feel that they had lost the
confidence of their preceptor. This
was simply the result of cultivating
reasoning powers in the minds of the
children, and I am happy to say there
are many such teachers now in Utah,
1 will say a few words in relation
to normal schools. As I said before,
we have had nothing to encourage
primary schools but what we ourselves
with our bone, sinew, energy and en-
terprise have done. So it is with the
more advanced branches. The Dese-
ret University has made efforts to
establish graded schools for the edu-
cation of teachers. This has been
done by small appropriations from
the Legislative Assembly and Salt
Lake City and County ; but the great
mass of the work has been done by
individual enterprise. There are
many at the present time in Utah
who have been thus educated, who
devote the winter season, and many
of them the summer, to teaching
schools. The energy of Superinten-
dent Campbell in introducing suitable
OUR SCHOOLS.
375
books and apparatus, and to improve
the condition of our schools has been
commendable; and the Timponagos
branch of the University of Deseret,
at Prove, one at St George and
several others established in the Ter-
ritory for the education of teachers
have had their good effects. But
their effects are limited, compared
with what tbey might be, and I am
sorry to say that eeveral of our
young men have been under the ne-
cessity of going to universities in
other parts of the world to obtain an
education, which it is desirable we
should have the facilities to give
them here. Brethren and sisters,
take this matter to your hearts, for it
is one of the great missions of the
Latter-day Saints to do all in their
power to educate the rising generation
and to teach thera the principles of
eternal truth.
I have had the pleasure of visiting
a good many Sunday-schools, from
time to time, from a very early period
after I hey were established in this
Territory, and I can speak highly of
their influence and the benefits they
have produced. I visited a Bible
class while atJ3t. George, composed
of young gentlemen and ladies, and I
found that they were as well in-
structed in relation to the principles
of the Gospel, as laid don a in the
Bible and in the revelations of the
Lord, as a very large portion of the
Elders. I was very glad to see it, I
visited Sunday-schools when I could
in the course of my travels, and I
was gratified to see the progress that
has been made. I want to stir up
parents to the necessity of fitting up
and encouraging their children to at-
tend Sunday-school. I also want to
encourage them to attend themselves
and act as teachers; and for the young
men and young women, whenever
they can, or those whose family
arrangements are such that they can
attend to it, to volunteer and contri-
bute their exertions in carrying on
| Sunday-schools. A great many El-
ders have devoted much time to this
useful and important subject, and
have labored to teach, encourage and
strengthen Sunday-schools. Last sum-
mer, two weeks previous to the cele-
brated Methodist camp meeting that
was held in this city, Dr. Vincent, a
Methodist minister, and two others
connected with Sunday-schools, by
their own request, addressed in this
Tabernacle about four thousand Sun-
day-school children. They told me
they had visited the Sunday-school
in the 13th Ward, and had addressed
the scholars there, and they said that
that Sunday-school was highly credi-
table. But although they gave us
, so much credit, they went away
feeling very bitter towards us. I
asked them if they had not been
treated as well here as we would be
in their society, "0, yes/' said
they, " We were invited to attend
Sunday-schools and we did so. We
I were allowed to address the children,
and at our request four or five thou-
sand were brought together for u* to
talk to." And they went on and
I told how well they were treated ; but
not h withstanding that, they said they
had been told from the most re-
liable sources that a great many men
had been killed in this country for
not being " Mormons." Said I, " You
have been most foully gulled by some-
body/' Dr. Vincent replied, H The
authority is most reliable, for it came
from our officers/ 1 I said to him,
" The officers change so often that
they can ha ve no personal know let fge
on these subjects. Some of them are
interested in promoting difficulty with
the people of Utah. J\o man was
ever killed in Utah for his religion j
aiid if the few cases of murder that
have occurred here were thoroughly
investigated they would be found to
376 JOURNAL OF
be the result of private quarrels; and
theie have been five hundred per cent,
less of such cases here than in any other
new State or Territory with which I
have been acquainted ; and the country
can not be found on the face of the
earth where the population is scat-
tered over such a large area which has
maintained such perfect police regula-
tions, and these statements are simply
scandal*1'
I name this circumstance from the
fact that a man who had been so
liberally treated by the Lattefrday
Saints, who had had the privilege of
speaking to the largest collection of
school children that he probably ever
saw in his life, would believe lies told
him by renegades, and carry them
away and publish them rather than
the real facts which he hwl the privi-
lege of seeing, hearing and learning
from reliable authority while here,
I wish to stir up our brethren to
continue their labor in Sunday-schools,
and, in doing so, to continue to sustain
liberally the Juvenile Instructor,
Place it in the hands of your children,
it contains some of the best reading
matter for them I know of, and its
circulation should be widely extended.
I notice from pieces published by
Protestant ministers who have estab-
lished churches in this city, that their
principal hope ot converting the
"Mormons" is by leading, (I call it
misleading) away their children. They
despair of converting the old ones
who are perfectly established in their
religious faith; and their hope ap-
pears to be in misleading their chil-
dren by getting them into their
schools. By so doingfthey can pro-
bibly draw them away from the Lat-
DISCOURSES,
ter-day faith, and through the chil-
dren they may also succeed in paining
over some of their parents. The en-
emy of all righteousness is sagacious,
and so are his servants, and I think it
quite honest, but not very creditable
to Christian ministers to frankly
acknowledge that their business here
is to try and entice children from
their parents. But so far as this is
concerned our brethren and sisters
should learn a lesson by it, and see
that the persons who educate their
children do not plant in their hearts
falsehood, deception, wickedness and
corruption. They should place them
under the tuition of those who will
teach them the principles they are
employed to teach, and not instil into
their minds those things that will
lead thein to destruction. The cate-
chism for children, exhibiting the
prominent doctrines of the Church of
Jesns Christ of Latter-day Saints,
should be in every family t school and
Bible class.
I think measured should be taken to
increase the circulation among the
people of the Deseret News^ and the
standard works of the Church. A
grea many rea them, and many do
not ; and if in the various neighbor-
hoods, a little more pains were taken,
the information tbey contain could be
more widely disseminated. I know
the enemies of Zion are willing to
take any pains in the world almost to
circulate lies; why should we not
take a little pains to circulate truth,
and to spread and to disseminate
abroad pure and holy principles ? I
call the attention of Elders of the
various stakes to these subjects.
Peace to the faithful. Amen.
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